(The Age, 10/10/2024)
Even Biden must have worked out by now that Netanyahu does not care about anything he says – he is just playing him – Mark
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with US President Joe Biden for the first time in more than a month as Washington seeks to temper Israel’s retaliation for last week’s missile attack from Iran.
The offices of both leaders confirmed the call, which included Vice President Kamala Harris. The prime minister’s office said the call lasted 50 minutes. The two sides were expected to provide readouts of what was discussed later Wednesday (Thursday AEDT).
The conversation was the first time Biden and Netanyahu had spoken since August. In the weeks since then, Israel has launched a massive campaign to target the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, killing most of its senior leadership including Hassan Nasrallah as well as at least 1,500 people in air strikes. Iran fired about 200 ballistic missiles in response, which the US helped to defend against.
The US has since acknowledged that Israel must respond to the strike from Tehran, and the retaliation is expected to happen at any time. But the administration has urged Netanyahu not to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure or nuclear facilities, worried that doing so will further escalate the conflict and pull in the US.
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