“Together with our partners, we defeated that attack,” Mr. Biden said in his first public appearance since the strikes, speaking from the Oval Office where he was hosting Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani of Iraq.
“The United States is committed to Israel’s security,” he added, and was continuing to work toward a deal that would halt the war in Gaza, free the hostages there and prevent “the conflict from spreading beyond what it already has.”
Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, noted on Monday that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken had spoken to officials in Britain, Egypt, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in an effort to ease tensions.
“We continue to make clear to everyone that we talk to that we want to see de-escalation, that we don’t want to see this conflict further escalated,” Mr. Miller told reporters in Washington. “We don’t want to see a wider regional war.”
Still, he added, “Israel is a sovereign country. They have to make their own decisions about how best to defend themselves.”
As Israel considered its next move, Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, warned Israel again that, if attacked, Iran would “respond immediately to Israel’s adventures.”
“I reiterate that we are not seeking to increase tensions in the region,” Mr. Amir Abdollahian said, according to Iranian state media. But he added that if American bases in the region were used in an attack, Iran would “have no choice” but to target those bases.
Mr. Amir Abdollahian spoke to his British counterpart, David Cameron, on Monday, amid the diplomatic efforts to prevent further military strikes.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain described Iran’s attack as a “reckless and dangerous escalation” from a government that was “intent on sowing chaos in their backyard.” Faced with such threats, “Israel has our full support,” Mr. Sunak told British lawmakers. But he added that Britain was working with allies to de-escalate the situation, a point Mr. Cameron emphasized as well.
“We’re urging our Israeli friends to be smart as well as tough, to use head as well as heart, not to strike back, but to recognize that actually Iran has suffered a tactical and strategic defeat and Israel should now focus on Hamas and making sure they get that hostage deal and that we try to bring peace and stability to Gaza,” Mr. Cameron told the television program “Good Morning Britain.”
