| I can just imagine the side conversations during those hours, especially as sundown approached. |
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] American officials breathed a sign of relief on Saturday night when they realized their preparations to help Israel, made over the past 10 days, had paid off and Iran had been thwarted.
President Joe Biden and his team were mindful the attack from Tehran 'could have caused an uncontrollable escalation abroad regional conflict, something we have worked day and night to avoid,' a senior administration told reporters in a briefing on Sunday.
Biden and his team watched - in real time in the White House Situation Room - as Iran sent over 300 aerial attacks into Israel. At one point, Tehran fired over 100 ballistic missiles at the same time, leading to a tense moment among the Americans, who said the level of force was at the 'high end' of what they expected.
'He was in the Situation Room getting real time updates, as this unfolded, including at the time of missile launches,' the official said of Biden, adding 'there was a bit of a relief, which you can imagine those tense moments,' when it was clear the attack was thwarted.
Two squadrons of U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles and anti-missile defenses shot from two U.S. aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea helped Israeli defenses war off the attack, which left minimal damage.
'The United States enabled Israel to spectacularly defeat this unprecedent attack,' the U.S. official said, pointing out that 'President Biden is the first American President to directly defend Israel.' |