Kirby says it will ‘be up to’ Israel on any response to Iranian attack

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby on Sunday said it would be up to Israel to decide how it moves forward after Iran launched a missile attack against Israel over the weekend.

When pressed on “Fox News Sunday” if the Biden administration is advising Israel leaders about any retaliatory response, Kirby said, “I think…it’s going to be up to the Israelis to decide what the next step is here.”

“I will just say this: President Biden — since the beginning of this conflict — has worked very hard to keep this from becoming a broader regional war, to keep the tensions from escalating,” Kirby continued. “Everything he’s done, everything he’s moved in the region, every decision, every discussion that he’s had is all designed to not let this become a broader regional war and that’s where his head is still,” he continued.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched dozens of missiles and drones toward Israel on Saturday following an alleged Israeli strike earlier this month that killed two IRGC officers near the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria.

The “vast majority” of the Iranian missiles were intercepted outside of the country by Israel’s air defenses and the assistance of allied forces, including that of the U.S.

Tehran’s attack sparked concerns over a wider regional conflict as Israel’s war with Palestinian militant group Hamas rages on in Gaza. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a surprise assault against southern Israel.

“Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream pointed to the Biden administration’s increasing critique of Israel’s moves in Gaza, and asked Kirby if the U.S. plans to manage Israel’s response to Iran.

“I think we’re going to have to wait and see what the Israelis decide to do. I don’t know. I’ve been around allies and alliances my whole professional life, and I can’t think of a single one where if it’s a real alliance where you can’t have honest conversations with one another every now and then and take issue with the way something might be done,” he said.

“We’re not bashful about that without good friend Israel,” he continued. “But the other thing we’re not bashful about and certainly President Biden’s not been bashful about is making sure that when we say we’re going to help Israel defend itself, my goodness, we’re going to. We’re going to put something behind that, and we did that last night.”