National Defense

Biden’s Top National Security Advisers Reportedly Don’t Know How Iran-Israel Standoff Will Go Down

President Joe Biden’s top national security advisers told him on Monday they don’t exactly know how the looming Israel-Iran standoff will play out, according to Axios.

Iran has vowed to retaliate after a top Hamas commander, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated inside the country’s capital last week, an operation Israel is suspected of carrying out. The U.S. has made posture changes to military forces in the Middle East region in preparation for an attack, but members of the White House National Security Council (NSC) told Biden during a briefing on Monday that they aren’t completely sure what might come next, three U.S. officials told Axios.

Iran and Hezbollah — the latter of which is also seeking retaliation against Israel after the country assassinated one of the terror group’s top commanders last week — are reportedly expected to launch some sort of attack in the coming hours or days, though the exact timing is still unclear, according to Axios. NSC officials told Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during the briefing on Monday that the likely scenario is that Iran will attack Israel first, followed by a second wave attack by Hezbollah, officials told Axios.

But it still wasn’t clear from U.S. intelligence which adversary would strike first or what the attack would look like, officials told Axios. Iran and Hezbollah’s plan to retaliate against Israel is still “a work in progress,” and both sides haven’t made any final decisions, one official told Axios.

Earlier, @VP and I were briefed in the Situation Room on developments in the Middle East.

We received updates on threats posed by Iran and its proxies, diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions, and preparations to support Israel should it be attacked again.

We also… pic.twitter.com/kbRcVkW3ex

— President Biden (@POTUS) August 5, 2024

The Biden administration has been vocal that it will come to Israel’s defense in a scenario where Iran or Hezbollah launch an attack. Administration officials have also pursued diplomatic methods with their Arab counterparts in the region to try and find an off-ramp before the region spirals further into conflict.

Biden told officials during the meeting on Monday to ensure that coordination with U.S. and Israeli forces is as close as possible, according to Axios.

The U.S. is moving more naval and air assets through the Middle East in preparation for an attack, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters on Monday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, on Monday to discuss joint-defense efforts and “the need to de-escalate broader tensions in the region, to include strong support for a Gaza cease-fire and hostage-release deal,” Singh said.

Similarly, U.S. Central Command leader Gen. Michael Kurilla traveled to Israel on Monday to meet with Gallant and military officials and discussed “joint preparations in the region,” the Israeli Defense Forces said on Monday.

The NSC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.