Israel won't strike Iranian nuclear or oil facilities but will focus on military sites, PM Netanyahu assures Biden

Israel has reportedly assured the U.S. Biden administration that it won’t attack Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities and will instead focus its strikes on the regime’s military installations, U.S. media reported on Monday.

Following the reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office (PMO) released a rare late-night statement, emphasizing that the Israeli government was making its decisions without influence from the Biden administration.

“We listen to the opinion of the U.S. but we will make our final decisions based on our national interests,” the PMO said.

For over two weeks, U.S. and Israeli officials have been discussing Israel's response to the Iranian missile assault on Oct. 1.

While several Israeli leaders called for Israel to use the opportunity to strike Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. President Joe Biden has publicly opposed Israel attacking the regime’s nuclear and oil facilities.

Netanyahu’s statement could be intended to calm possible domestic criticism from the right wing of his coalition that Israel is being unduly influenced by U.S. concerns.

The statement follows reports in Israeli media that despite the PMO’s denials, the government ordered the IDF to stop striking Hezbollah targets in the Lebanese capital of Beirut following a request from the U.S.

On Monday, the Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal cited U.S. officials saying that Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently assured their U.S. counterparts that Israel’s response to Iran will focus on military installations.

The reports also said that Israel hasn’t provided an exact target list but that it would aim its strikes at military or intelligence targets, most likely those belonging to the regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Quds Force.

On Monday evening, Israeli media reported Monday that Netanyahu had convened a high-level Cabinet meeting to discuss the strike plans.

In another indication that an Israeli response could take place in the coming days, the U.S. confirmed the deployment of a U.S. Army-operated Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile defense system to Israel, accompanied by approximately 100 soldiers.

The system is expected to bolster Israel's aerial defense, which is reportedly running low on interceptor missiles, in preparation for potential Iranian retaliation following Israel’s planned strikes.