When the week was set to end in a relaxed manner as President Joe Biden planned to enjoy the Masters tournament at his beach house in Delaware, an abrupt change of plans saw him returning to the Situation Room at the White House. The reason for this sudden change was the looming threat of an air attack in Israel by Iran.
The president once again found himself on a call with Binyamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel. The call this time revolved around reassuring “America’s steadfast pledge to the safety of Israel”. It also strongly underlined the necessity to diffuse the escalating tensions and prevent the emergence of a widespread conflict within the region.” something that was focused upon in their conversation just a week earlier following the grave humanitarian impact of Israel’s attacks on Hamas in Gaza.
The assault saw the launching of more than 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles. However, the rapid and combined response of the US and Israeli missile defences managed to neutralise all threats. Under President Biden’s directive, aircraft and ballistic missile defence destroyers had been moved earlier in the week. These successful defence manoeuvres resulted in minimal damage.
Biden encouraged Netanyahu to consider this as a victory, reportedly telling him “You got a win. Take the win.” In the official White House statement, this was conveyed as: “I informed him that Israel showcased an impressive ability to guard against and overcome even unparalleled attacks – conveying a lucid message to its opponents that they cannot successfully endanger Israel’s security.”
This most recent engagement tests the power of Biden’s influence over Netanyahu. While attempting to shape a unified diplomatic stance among G7 leaders against the aggression from Iran, Biden’s key challenge is convincing Israel to refrain from responding in a way that could destabilise the region further. All of this comes amid accusations from Donald Trump, the Republican candidate who was defeated by Biden in the November elections, that under Biden’s leadership, the US is displaying diplomatic frailty – using the Iranian attack as further evidence at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Marco Rubio, a Republican senator who sought the Republican Presidential ticket in 2016, communicated with CNN on Sunday implying that despite the air assault being viewed as a “theatrical display”, Iran’s overarching aspiration was to turn Israel into an unliveable zone. He highlighted the potential damage the attack could pose to Israel’s tourism industry without acknowledging the impact the ongoing six-month conflict could have had on local tourism, and criticized Biden for his purported suggestion to Netanyahu to consider the assault as a “victory”.
Criticising further, Rubio spoke about the leak of this advice to the press conjecturing the only motive behind the leak was so that when Israel retaliated, the White House could claim innocence and pacify the peace advocates and those people who cheered at the launch of numerous drones and rockets against Israel.
Not long after the conflict commenced, Marsha Blackburn, a Republican senator from Tennessee, disseminated a message through social media platform X, exhorting President Biden to “retaliate aggressively against Iran”.
Given that recent surveys indicate that Biden’s popularity has increased in comparison to Trump’s during the electoral race, this crisis presents a chance to exhibit his inherent trust in diplomatic resolution and in his years of political experience. However, it also shines a light on the unforgiveable procrastination by Congress in passing new legislation, with the foreign aid bill yet to be presented before the House of Representatives since February.
As stated by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine on Sunday, ” The timing is… it’s staring us in the face, this bill that the Senate approved almost unanimously, by a margin of 70 to 29 votes earlier in February”.
Kaine further added, “This bill is fully prepared and waiting for the House’s action. This bill, which is critical as it contains defence aid for Israel, Ukraine and humanitarian support for Gaza, has taken too much time. I hold hope that the recent difficulties might incite action. The recent events validate that Congress cannot simply remain idle”.