Iran has launched its threatened response to the bombing of its embassy in Syria with a drone and ballistic missile assault that appears to have been mostly neutralized through a combined effort by Israel, the United States, France, and Jordan (and possibly others). Biden’s response to this attack is to let Israel know the U.S. will not support a counterstrike. He said, “At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week. Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.” Excerpt from www.npr.org Iran launched a massive barrage of over 300 drones and missiles at Israel over the weekend — in what is believed to be Iran’s first direct attack on its regional foe from Iranian soil. Nearly all of the weapons were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States. However, a few of the Iranian ballistic missiles made it through the defenses, severely injuring a 7-year-old girl and slightly damaging a military base in southern Israel, according to Israeli officials. Excerpt from www.boston.com President Joe Biden lauded American forces who helped Israel down “nearly all” of the drones and missiles fired by Iran and vowed to coordinate a global response to Tehran’s unprecedented attack. The Pentagon said U.S. forces intercepted “dozens of missiles” and drones launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen that were headed toward Israel. With regional tensions at their highest since the Israel-Hamas war began six months ago, Biden pledged on Saturday that American support for Israel’s defense against attacks by Iran and its proxies is “ironclad.” The attack marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, risking a wider regional conflict. Biden made clear in a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. would not participate in any offensive action against Iran, according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to publicly discuss the private conversation and spoke on condition of anonymity…. “At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,” Biden said in a statement late Saturday. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.” Iran’s U.N. Mission Says Military Action Concluded The Wall Street Journal Excerpt from www.washingtonpost.com The Biden administration on Sunday congratulated Israel — along with itself and allies — on their “spectacular” success in fending off an unprecedented barrage of more than 300 Iranian missiles and armed drones, even as it made clear its desire for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government to declare victory and refrain from striking back. The United States remains “committed to defending Israel,” a senior administration official said, and “what you saw last night,” as Israeli air defense — supplemented by U.S. planes and warships — shot down 99 percent of the Iranian fires, “is what that means in practice. … We are ready to do it again if we have to.” But this official and others who spoke in official briefings, background interviews and on television throughout the day, emphasized that the United States would not participate in any offensive Israeli response against Iran. “Our aim is to de-escalate regional tensions” and prevent the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza from becoming a wider conflagration, the senior official said. Excerpt from www.dailymail.co.uk Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) agrees the U.S. should not yet get involved in conflict with Iran after it launched hundreds of missiles toward Israel since Saturday. The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, however, warned President Joe Biden against waiting too long to ‘step up to the plate’ in the region because it could lead to larger conflict. He told NBC News host Kristen Welker on Sunday that the Biden administration needs to make it more clear to Iran that there will be grave consequences from the U.S. if they do continue to launch attacks against Israel. As Jordan, US forces intercept Iranian drones bound for Israel, Tehran warns Amman against aiding Israel Daily Minute Mirror US military destroyed 80 drones, 6 missiles launched from Iran, Yemen, US Centcom says Reuters Excerpt from economictimes.indiatimes.com Iran’s attack on Israel drew applause from many Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday as rare payback for the Israeli offensive on their enclave, although some said they suspected Tehran had staged the assault more for show than to inflict real damage.