(CNN) -Israel has provided no assurances to the Biden administration that it will not attack Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to Iranian ballistic missile attacks earlier this week, a senior U.S. State Department official told CNN this Friday. told.
The official said it was “very difficult to know” whether Israel would use the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks to retaliate.
Asked by CNN whether Israel has assured the United States that Iran’s nuclear sites are out of the negotiations, the official said, “We hope to see some wisdom and strength, but as you know, its There are no guarantees.”
US officials expressed support for Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack earlier this week and several officials have said publicly that there should be consequences. At the same time, officials have also expressed concern about regional conflict in the increasingly unstable Middle East.
Video of firing between Israel and Hezbollah on the Lebanese border
President Joe Biden said earlier this week that the United States would not support Israel attacking the Iranian nuclear program.
“If I were you, I would think about other options besides attacking the oil fields,” Biden declared at a press conference this Friday.
US officials are still unclear when Israel’s response will be decided or enacted. The President said this Friday that Israel is “not going to make any decisions immediately.”
The senior State Department official, asked by CNN whether Israel would use the first anniversary of the Hamas attack to retaliate against Iran, said: “It’s really hard to say.”
“I think in some ways they will want to avoid the 7th, so in my opinion if anything it will probably happen sooner rather than later,” the official said, pointing to the severity of that day and any Israeli retaliation. That said, that would potentially reduce it. Shows the day.
According to the official, the United States has been working for almost a year to prevent the conflict from becoming a major war and has been successful so far. “At the moment, it is at the border,” the official said.
Biden said this Friday that US officials are in contact with their Israeli counterparts “12 hours a day.”
Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Wednesday that “there are very good efforts being made on both sides to keep the lines of communication open and make sure that viewpoints are understood.”
“There have been moments of surprise over the last two months, I don’t think it’s any secret,” he admitted.
“With regard to the Iranian attack on Israel, it is not only Israel that is thinking about its response options; It’s also the United States of America,” Campbell said at an event at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“Our overriding message is, ‘Be very careful in whatever we do with respect to Iran,'” Campbell said.
This article has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Nikki Carvajal contributed to this report.