(Archived) Netanyahu tells U.S. that Israel will strike Iranian military, not nuclear or oil, targets, officials say

The signal is being seen in Washington as a sign of restraint after concerns that an Israeli strike on oil or nuclear facilities could trigger a wider war.

By Shira Rubin and Ellen Nakashima
October 14, 2024 at 4:37 p.m. EDT

TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the Biden administration he is willing to strike military rather than oil or nuclear facilities in Iran, according to two officials familiar with the matter, suggesting a more limited counterstrike aimed at preventing a full-scale war.

In the two weeks since Iran’s latest missile barrage on Israel, its second direct attack in six months, the Middle East has braced for Israel’s promised response, fearing the two countries’ decades-long shadow war could explode into a head-on military confrontation. It comes at a politically fraught time for Washington, less than a month before the election, and President Joe Biden has said publicly he would not support an Israeli strike on nuclear-related sites.

When Biden and Netanyahu spoke Wednesday — their first call in more than seven weeks after months of rising tensions between the two men — the prime minister said he was planning to target military infrastructure in Iran, according to a U.S. official and an official familiar with the matter. Like others in this story, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations.

The Israeli prime minister’s office did not reply to a request for comment. The White House had no immediate comment.

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