Washington upset with Israeli PM Netanyahu, did not provide details on attack on Iran

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held their first phone conversation in two months on Wednesday, with the conversation focusing on Israel's response to Iran.

Since the ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in late October, differences between Washington and Tel Aviv have begun to surface.

In recent months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has opposed the US administration's directives and the US president's "advice" on managing the war in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

When the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon was launched, the US administration seemed surprised by several Israeli operations against Hezbollah, ranging from the 'pager bombings' to the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.

The Wall Street Journal reported that several US officials expressed their frustration with the repeated surprise of Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

Galant’s visit postponed

The newspaper pointed out that before the postponement of the meeting between Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, which was scheduled for Wednesday, some had hoped that the United States would know more about what Israel was thinking.

Israeli officials said that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu prevented Galant from leaving for the United States on Tuesday evening as Tel Aviv continued to plan operations in Iran.

A senior US official confirmed that he had not yet been informed about the timing or purpose of the Israeli attack on Iran.

The Israeli defense minister said that he was scheduled to provide more details about the attack, including potential targets, during his meeting with Galant yesterday.

However, the US official did not clarify whether he had received assurances from Israel that Washington would be notified in advance of any expected Israeli attack on Tehran, and instead referred to repeated conversations between senior officials.

Attacks on nuclear facilities?

Some US officials have indicated that Israel may launch more attacks than it did in April, when it targeted Iranian anti-missile systems.

But they denied targeting nuclear or oil facilities, and instead hinted at targeting Iranian military and intelligence infrastructure.

At a press conference the day after Iran’s missile attack on Israel on January 1, Biden stressed the need for Israel to refrain from attacking Iranian oil facilities.

Several Israeli officials have hinted that all options are on the table, including attacking Iran’s nuclear program, the Iranian presidential palace, the home of Supreme Leader Khamenei, or the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have vowed to respond more forcefully than before if an “Israeli aggression” attacks their bases inside Iran, and a channel affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force published a map of sensitive Israeli sites that Tehran could target if Israel retaliates. The map, which was posted on the Telegram app, shows a number of oil and gas fields that are within range of Iranian forces.