By ZEKE MILLER (AP White House Correspondent)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Leaders of the Group of Seven nations convened by President Joe Biden after Iran’s attacks on Israel said Sunday they stood firmly behind Israel in the face of attempts by Tehran to destabilize the region.
After their videoconference, the leaders of the world’s advanced democracies issued a joint statement “unequivocally condemning in the strongest terms” the direct strikes by Iran while expressing “our full solidarity and support to Israel” and reaffirming “our commitment towards its security.”
The G7 — made up of the U.S., Italy, Japan, Germany, France, Britain and Canada — also said that Iran, “with its actions, has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation.” They said their nations “stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.”
The United States assisted Israel in shooting down dozens of drones and missiles fired by Tehran in what was the first time that Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel. Israeli authorities said 99% of the inbound weapons were shot down without causing any significant damage.
“At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,” Biden said in a statement late Saturday. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.”
Biden, in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that night, urged that Israel claim victory for its defense prowess as the president aimed to dissuade America’s closest Mideast ally from a larger retaliatory strike against Iran. Biden, according to a senior administration official, told Netanyahu that the U.S. would not participate in any offensive action against Iran. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the private conversation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks -– sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” Biden said in his statement.
Biden had a call Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in which the king said that any “escalatory measures” by Israel would lead to a broader conflict in the region, according to the Royal Court. There was no immediate White House summary of the call.
The G7 meeting, Biden said, was intended “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.”
The effort to encourage Israel to show restraint mirrored ongoing American efforts to curtail Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which is now in its seventh month, and to do more to protect civilian lives in the territory.
The war was referenced in the G7 statement, with the leaders saying they will bolster “our cooperation to end the crisis in Gaza, including by continuing to work towards an immediate and sustainable ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas, and deliver increased humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need.”
The U.S. and Israel had been bracing for an attack for days after Iran said it would retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed 12 people, including two senior Iranian generals in the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized White House for “leaking it to the press” that Biden told Netanyahu to take the win and not retaliate.
Rubio told CNN’s “State of the Union” that it wast “part of the White House’s efforts to appease” people calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.