The escalation of tensions between Iran and Israel has also raised tensions in the US. It was announced that US President Joe Biden, who made a statement of support for Israel, will interrupt his vacation and return to the White House upon the developments.
US President Joe Biden is returning to the capital Washington, interrupting his vacation to closely follow developments in the Middle East with the White House National Security Council.
According to a written statement from the White House, Biden will interrupt his weekend vacation in Delaware and return to the capital this afternoon US local time.
In his statement the previous day, Biden had stated that they would support Israel in every sense against a possible Iranian attack.
Reports in the US media suggested that Iran could launch an attack within 48 hours, and in his last statement, Biden claimed that Iran could respond to Israel “at any time”.
IRAN-ISRAEL TENSIONS
On April 1, Israel launched an airstrike on Iran’s consulate building in the embassy compound in Damascus. In the attack, 7 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, including 2 generals, were killed.
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that Israel’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus meant an attack on his country’s territory and said, “The evil regime has made a mistake, it must be punished and will be punished.”
US President Joe Biden has also pledged “unwavering” support for Tel Aviv in the face of Iranian threats to attack Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said, “If Iran attacks us from its territory, we will respond, we will attack Iran.”
Some countries had advised their citizens against traveling to Iran and Israel amid escalating tensions in the region.
Iran also announced that it had seized a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship in the Persian Gulf, claiming it was linked to Israel.
In a subsequent statement, Israel said Iran would “face the consequences of escalating the situation”.
