We listen to US but make our own decisions – Israel

The Israeli Government has said that it will listen to the opinion of the United States, but ultimately act in its national interests.

This is contained in a statement from the office of Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday

The statement came in response to press inquiries about a story in the Washington Post.

The Washington Post report, which cited anonymous officials, said Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden that Israel plans to strike Iranian military facilities but not oil or nuclear targets, adding that Netanyahu was preparing a more limited counterstrike in response to Iran’s missile barrage on Israel two weeks ago.

There are fears that the Middle East is on the path to a full-blown regional war given the soaring tensions between Israel and Iran, leading to imminent uncertainty over how Israel would retaliate to the hundreds of ballistic missiles launched by Iran on October 1.

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Recall that US President, Joe Biden, had made it clear that he does not support an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which could trigger a further escalation and draw the US into the conflict, stressing that an attack on oil facilities could drive up global energy prices.

Israel has in addition informed the US that it will end its operations against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon in the coming weeks.

In the brief statement, however, Netanyahu’s office said: “We listen to the opinions of the US, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interests.’’