The American news site "Axios," citing informed sources, revealed that Israel considered launching a retaliatory strike against Iran on Monday evening but ultimately decided to postpone it. While Israel vowed to respond to the unprecedented missile and drone attack launched by Iran, U.S. officials stated that the Biden administration warned that escalation with Iran would not serve American or Israeli interests and urged Israel to exercise caution in any retaliation.
The United States is concerned that continued counterattacks could lead to broader regional escalation. Axios reported an American official saying, “We are not sure about the reason or how close the actual attack is,” and a second official confirmed that “Israel informed the Biden administration on Monday that they decided to wait.”
A third American official noted that “a small Israeli strike inside Iran is likely to provoke a retaliatory response from Iran, but the Biden administration hopes it would be more limited than the strike Iran launched against Israel on Saturday and that it would end the exchange of attacks between the two countries.”
The "Israeli War Council" considered giving the Israeli military the green light to strike Iran, but the decision was made not to proceed with the operation “for practical reasons,” according to Israeli officials.
One American official said that “Israeli officials informed the Biden administration on Monday about the upcoming War Cabinet meeting and stated they would keep the U.S. updated on the decisions.” After the Israeli Cabinet meeting, Israeli officials informed the Biden administration that the decision was to wait a few days to avoid a large-scale escalation.
In their unprecedented attack, Iran launched nearly 350 drones and offensive missiles against Israel on April 13, in response to an airstrike earlier in April on its embassy compound in Syria, which resulted in the death of a senior Iranian general and others. The American news site reported that an "Israeli official" stated that the decision to respond to the Iranian attack on Israel has been made, with the only question being when and how.
Israeli and American officials noted that "IDF Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi and other former generals in the government – Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot – are pushing for a response."
