The Biden administration believes it has won assurances from Israel that it will not hit Iranian nuclear or oil sites as it looks to strike back following Iran's missile barrage earlier this month, two U.S. officials said Tuesday.
The administration also believes that sending a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to Israel and roughly 100 soldiers to operate it has eased some of Israel's concerns about possible Iranian retaliation and general security issues.
The Pentagon on Sunday announced the THAAD deployment to help bolster Israel's air defenses following Iran's ballistic missile attacks on Israel in April and October, saying it was authorized at the direction of President Joe Biden.
However, the U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic discussions, cautioned that the assurance is not iron-clad and that circumstances could change. The officials also noted that Israel's track record on fulfilling assurances in the past is mixed and has often reflected domestic Israeli politics that have upended Washington's expectations.
The most recent example of that was last month when U.S. officials were told by their Israeli counterparts that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would welcome a U.S.- and French-led temporary cease-fire initiative for Lebanon only to see Israel launch a massive airstrike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah two days later.
