United States President Joe Biden on Thursday stated that he is “in discussion” about possible strikes on Iranian oil facilities.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Biden, when asked if he would support Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, responded, “We’re in discussion of that. I think — I think that would be a little — anyway.”
Oil prices rose following Biden’s suggestion that US and Israeli officials were considering a possible Israeli strike on Iranian oil facilities, as reported by the Washington Post.
Later, before boarding Air Force One for a trip to Florida and Georgia to inspect damage caused by Hurricane Helene, Biden was asked whether he would allow Israel to retaliate against Iran.
According to a White House statement, Biden said, “First of all, we don’t allow Israel. We advise Israel. And nothing is going to happen today. We’ll talk about that later.”
A day earlier, Biden had stated that he would not support Israel attacking Iranian nuclear sites.
“The answer is no,” Biden had told reporters on Wednesday when asked about this.
“We’ll be discussing with the Israelis what they’re going to do,” he added, noting that all G7 countries agree that Israel has “a right to respond, but they should respond in proportion.”
He further mentioned that he had called for a meeting of the G7 countries, and they were working on a joint statement.
“… obviously, Iran has gone way out of–I mean, is way off board. We’re putting together a joint statement. It hasn’t been finalised yet. It will be done soon, probably by the time we land. And there are going to be some sanctions imposed on Iran,” Biden told reporters.
Biden also said he would speak “relatively soon” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu had warned of the consequences Iran would face after Tehran launched around 200 rockets in a direct missile attack on Israel on October 1.