Kirby: ‘We’re not looking for a wider war with Iran’

John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, said the Biden administration is “not looking” for a wider war with Iran after Tehran launched a retaliatory attack against Israel and sparked fears of a wider regional conflict in the Middle East.

Asked Sunday on NBC News’s “Meet The Press,” if the Middle East tensions have escalated into a wider war, Kirby said, “The president doesn’t believe that it needs to move in that direction whatsoever.”

“And also, Israel demonstrated again, as I said, that they’re not standing alone, that they have friends,” Kirby added. “So the president’s been clear. We don’t want to see this escalate. We’re not looking for a wider war with Iran. I think, you know, the coming hours and days will tell us a lot.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched dozens of missiles and drones toward Israel on Saturday. The move was largely expected in retaliation for an alleged Israeli strike earlier this month that hit the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, and killed two senior IRGC officers.

Israel later said the “vast majority” of the Iranian missiles were intercepted outside of the country by the country’s air defenses and the assistance of its allies, including U.S. forces. 

Kirby applauded Israel’s defense against the attack and said “very little go through,” leaving “extraordinarily light” damage.

“I would ask the Americans that saw what happened last night to take heart in terms of the military capability of their forces in the region, how they are defending themselves and defending our interest in the region,” he said.

President Biden departed early from his Delaware home on Saturday to return to the White House and consult with his national security team. He later spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said he condemned the attacks “in the strongest possible terms.” 

Iran’s most recent attacks have fueled fears of a wider regional war as Israel’s war with Palestinian militant group Hamas continues into its six month in Gaza.

Attacks by Tehran-backed proxies against American troops and bases in Iraq and Syria spiked after the start of the Israel-Hamas war but died down in early February when the U.S. launched a retaliatory assault against the militia groups. 

Kirby reiterated Biden’s plans to call the G7 together to discuss a diplomatic response.