In a sign of the expected storm to come, President Joe Biden was called back to the White House Saturday as the Middle East appeared on the brink of an attack against Israel.
Biden returned from his Delaware beach house Saturday afternoon “to consult with his national security team about events in the Middle East,” the White House said, according to the Guardian.
Iran had vowed retaliation after an April 1 attack by Israel killed seven members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, including two generals. On Saturday, Iran seized a cargo ship it said was linked to Israel.
On Friday, amid speculation that Iran was moving pieces into place for an attack, Biden said his expectation for an attack was “ sooner than later,” according to the White House.
What a mess...
BREAKING: White House says President Biden is returning to the White House from Rehoboth Beach, Del. this afternoon to consult with his national security team about events in the Middle East
Hours before Biden left for the beach, he said he expected an attack by… pic.twitter.com/1wcLOnYRxk
— 🇺🇲Salty Texan (@texan_maga) April 13, 2024
He also offered a one-word message to Iran: “Don’t.”
When asked if U.S. troops were at risk, Biden replied, “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will defend -- help defend Israel. And Iran will not succeed.”
Another sign of the expectation of an imminent attack came from the Israel Defense Forces' home front command, which put a state of alert in place Saturday and closed all schools on Sunday, according to Axios.
Although U.S. officials have said they will support Israel, and the U.S. has moved warships and planes into the region to bolster existing commitments, Iran has said that if it does intervene, American forces in the region will be attacked.
"I would just say that we're watching this very, very closely," National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said Friday, according to Fox News.
"We still deemed the potential threat by Iran here to be real, to be viable, certainly credible, and we're watching it as closely as we can."
If you believe President Biden saying “don’t” to Iran is an effective deterrent, then you have missed a lot.
It’s not the words the President uses when it comes to the bad guys. It’s what they think the President will do.
We need to make it clear to Iran that if they attack…
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 13, 2024
Biden’s response was criticized by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to The Hill.
“Well, he said ‘don’t’ multiple times and don’t isn’t a national security policy,” Pompeo said. “It’s not even a deterrent.”
“The Iranians have already attacked Israel once on October 7 through their proxy Hamas. They’re continuing to fire on American interests in the region now over 100 times since October 7,” he said. “So, what we’re talking about in the next 24 to 48 hours is just a continuation of a failed policy to actually protect Israel.”
Pompeo said America has not been left on the sidelines of the ongoing conflict.
“They haven’t left us out of this and you can’t leave the United States out when you’re attacking our friend and ally in Israel,” he said.
He called the Biden administration’s message a “green light for a regime that has made very clear their intention” is to destroy Israel and America.
Former President Donald Trump called Biden’s response “pretty pathetic,” according to the Daily Mail.
“They wouldn't be attacking Israel if I were president, that I can tell you,” he said. “And they never did.”
