The US president has approved the development of an Israeli retaliation against Iran to deter future attacks. Israel struck military sites in three Iranian provinces, causing “limited damage”.

U.S. President Joe Biden "encouraged" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call last week to "devise" a retaliatory strike against Iran that would "deter future attacks on Israel," a senior U.S. administration official said, reports UNN citing CNN.

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U.S. officials had expected Israel to retaliate against Iran by Nov. 5, and an attack before the U.S. election would bring public attention to the growing instability in the Middle East in the days after the U.S. presidential election.

"The President discussed the overall situation with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Last week, he called on the prime minister to develop a response that will deter further attacks on Israel while reducing the risk of further escalation. And that's our goal. That's also Israel's goal, as they said tonight: if Iran decides to respond, we will be fully prepared to defend ourselves again against any attack," the official said.

According to CNN, both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been briefed on Israel's retaliatory strikes on Iran and have been closely monitoring developments.

Addendum

Israel launched direct strikes against Iran on Saturday morning in response to Tehran's launch of ballistic missiles earlier this month. The Israeli military said it hit "accurate" military targets in Iran, and Iranian state media reported several explosions.

Official Iranian media reported that strikes hit military installations in three provinces – Tehran, Ilam and Khuzestan – but said their air defenses worked well and damage was "limited.

Israeli officials said Israel's decision to strike Iranian military facilities came after weeks of discussions in the country's security cabinet about the nature and scope of such an attack.