Pentagon: Israeli defense minister cancels visit to Washington

2024-10-09 10:23:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has canceled a visit he was expected to make to the Pentagon on Wednesday, the Pentagon said, after Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to speak with US President Joe Biden first.

The surprise cancellation of the visit on Tuesday comes amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran as Israel considers options to respond to Tehran's missile attack last week. The Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel was the second this year.

The Pentagon declined to elaborate on the reasons for canceling Mr. Gallant's visit, saying that journalists could contact the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Prime Minister Netanyahu's office and that of Minister Gallant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"We have just been informed that Secretary Gallant will postpone his trip to Washington," Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said at a press conference.

The Israeli newspaper Ynet reported that Mr. Gallant had hoped that his visit to the United States would strengthen coordination on the response to Iran, but hours before departure, Prime Minister Netanyahu imposed two preconditions: a telephone conversation with President Biden and approval from response cabinet to Iran.

When asked about the cancellation of Mr. Gallant's visit, the White House said reporters should ask the Israeli government about that. President Biden and his aides have been considering the possibility of a phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu since late September. But the White House did not immediately respond to a question about whether such a call is already planned.

President Biden said on Friday that he thought Israel had not yet decided how to respond to Iran and added that he would consider striking Iranian oil refineries if he were in Israel.

Iran on Tuesday warned Israel against retaliatory attacks.

The Iranian foreign minister said that any attack on Iran's infrastructure would receive a response. Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official told Gulf states that he would consider it "unacceptable" and take action against them if they allow their airspace to be used for attacks against Iran.

Western powers are seeking a diplomatic solution out of fear that the conflict could spread to other areas of the Middle East, a region with large oil resources./VOA