白宫周一谨慎地避免谈论以色列对伊朗上周末袭击的任何可能回应，但也强调美国不希望看到该地区局势进一步升级。
国家安全委员会发言人约翰·柯比在每日新闻发布会上对记者说:“这是以色列的决定——他们是否以及如何对伊朗周六的行为做出回应。”“我们将把这个问题直接交给他们。”
美国广播公司首席白宫记者玛丽·布鲁斯随后问道，政府是否就如何应对向以色列官员提出任何建议。
“我们不参与他们关于潜在回应的决策过程，”柯比回应道。
当被问及拜登总统是否特别要求本雅明·内塔尼亚胡总理对伊朗表现出克制时，柯比只会说，拜登周六晚上向以色列领导人转达的信息强调了以色列对伊朗的军事优势以及随时准备保卫以色列的伙伴联盟。
柯比说:“总统敦促总理考虑一下这一成功本身对该地区其他国家意味着什么。”
“我要说的是，总统从这场冲突开始到10月7日一直坚定不移，”他继续说。“我们不想看到与伊朗的战争。我们不想看到更大范围的地区冲突。我们将尽我们所能保卫以色列。”
拜登在椭圆形办公室会见伊拉克总理穆罕默德·希亚·苏达尼时发表了简短讲话，传达了类似的信息。两人将在关键时刻讨论他们伙伴关系的重要性。
拜登说:“伊朗对以色列发动了前所未有的空袭，我们为保卫以色列付出了前所未有的军事努力。“与我们的合作伙伴一起，我们击败了那次袭击。”
“美国致力于以色列的安全，”总统继续说道。“我们致力于停火，这将使人质回家，并防止冲突蔓延到已经存在的范围之外。”
拜登没有回答问题，也没有详细说明他认为接下来应该发生什么，因为以色列正在考虑如何对伊朗的袭击做出反应，因为他会见了伊拉克的al-Sudani，尽管政府明确表示不希望发生更大范围的战争。
内塔尼亚胡周一会见了他的战争内阁，讨论对伊朗袭击的潜在反应。一名以色列官员在会后表示，与会者一致认为，以色列必须对伊朗周末的袭击做出回应，但“问题是如何回应。”
参议院共和党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)指责拜登政府迄今为止对局势的反应，称拜登试图“束缚受到攻击的盟友的手脚”。
“高级政府官员对以色列的公开批评无疑会影响以色列对手的决定，”麦康奈尔在参议院发表讲话时说。“如果总统对一个重要盟友的承诺是‘铁定’的，那么他对本周末袭击的回应就不会是告诫她的领导人不要自卫反击。如果对手向美国本土发射300枚导弹，美国总司令会不做出反应吗？”
麦康奈尔补充说，“现在是总司令袖手旁观我们的盟友和站起来面对我们的对手的时候了。”
4月13日对以色列的袭击被视为对伊朗所谓的其驻叙利亚大马士革领事馆的军事打击的报复。这次袭击造成七人死亡，包括一名伊朗高级指挥官。五角大楼本月早些时候表示以色列是这次袭击的幕后黑手，尽管以色列没有声称对此负责。
周一，以色列总参谋长赫齐·哈勒维(Herzi Halevi)视察了伊朗导弹周末袭击的一个空军基地，称伊朗的行动“将遭到回应”。
拜登总统，在伊朗行动的前一天，传递一个直白的信息对国家:“不要。”
当被问及伊朗不顾拜登的警告而明显蔑视时，柯比说，美国在周六的袭击中介入援助以色列应该发出一个明确的信息，“当总统说我们将认真对待我们对该地区的承诺，我们将帮助以色列自卫时，我们已经介入了这场游戏，我们证明了这一点。”
柯比还强烈否认有关伊朗向美国提供其打击以色列计划的事先通知的报道。他形容这样的叙述是“荒谬的”和“绝对错误的”
他说，“伊朗从未传达给我们时间和目标的信息。”
他说，在美国和其他伙伴的帮助下，以色列处于更强的地位，而伊朗在以色列之后被削弱了。抵挡了数百枚导弹和无人机由德黑兰在周末释放。
柯比说“今天世界上大多数国家都站在以色列一边”,而G7伙伴，在总统乔·拜登的双方正在努力制定针对伊朗导弹项目的新的多边制裁措施。
柯比对记者说:“这就是结果:一个更强大的以色列，一个更弱小的伊朗和一个更统一的伙伴联盟。”。“这不是伊朗在周六晚上发动袭击时的意图，一点也不。他们再次失败了。他们彻底失败了。”
The White House on Monday carefully avoided weighing in on any possible Israeli response to Iran's attack over the weekend but also stressed the U.S. didn’t want to see further escalation in the region.
"This is an Israeli decision to make -- whether and how they'll respond to what Iran did on Saturday," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the daily press briefing. "And we're going to leave it squarely with them."
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce followed up by asking if the administration was making any suggestions to Israel officials on how to react.
"We are not involved in their decision-making process about a potential response," Kirby responded.
Asked if President Biden specifically asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint toward Iran, Kirby would only say Biden relayed to the Israeli leader that Saturday night highlighted Israel's military superiority over Iran as well as the coalition of partners ready to defend Israel.
"The president urged the prime minister to think about what that success says all by itself to the rest of the region," Kirby said.
"All I'll say is that the president from the beginning of this conflict and Oct. 7 has been steadfast and consistent," he continued. "We don't want to see a war with Iran. We don't want to see a broader regional conflict. We will do what we have to do to defend Israel."
Biden had a similar message when he spoke briefly while meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in the Oval Office, where the two were set to discuss the importance of their partnership at a critical moment.
"Iran launched an unprecedented aerial attack against Israel and we mounted an unprecedented military effort to defend Israel," Biden said. "Together with our partners, we defeated that attack."
"The United States is committed to Israel's security," the president continued. "We're committed to a cease-fire that will bring the hostages home and preventing conflict from spreading beyond what it already has."
Biden did not take questions or elaborate on what he believed should happen next as Israel considers how to react to Iran's attack as he met with Iraq's al-Sudani, though the administration's made clear it doesn't want a wider war.
Netanyahu met Monday with his war cabinet to discuss potential responses to Iran's attack. An Israeli official said after the meeting there is agreement that Israel must respond to Iran's attack over the weekend but "the question is how."
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell chastised the Biden administration for its response to the situation so far, saying Biden is trying to "tie the hands of an ally under attack."
"The public criticism of Israel by senior administration officials undoubtably influences the decisions of Israel's adversaries," McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor. "If the president's commitment to a vital ally were 'ironclad' his response to this weekend's attack would not be to lecture her leaders against responding in self-defense. Would an American commander in chief fail to respond if an adversary launched 300 missiles at American soil?"
McConnell added, "It's time for the commander in chief to stand by our allies and stand up to our adversaries."
The April 13 attack on Israel was viewed as retaliation for a military strike on what Iran called its consulate in Damascus, Syria. The strike killed seven people, including a top Iranian commander. The Pentagon said earlier this month that Israel was behind the strike, though Israel has not claimed responsibility.
On Monday, Israel's Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi visited an airbase where Iranian missiles struck over the weekend, stating Iran's actions "will be met with a response."
President Biden, a day before Iran's actions, delivered a blunt message to the country: "Don't."
Asked about Iran's apparent defiance despite Biden's warning, Kirby said the U.S. stepping in to aid Israel during Saturday's attack should send a clear message that "when the president says we're going to take our commitments to the region seriously and we're going to help Israel defend itself, we got skin in the game and we prove it."
Kirby also vehemently denied reports that Iran provided the U.S. advance notice of its plans to strike Israel. He described such a narrative as "ludicrous" and "categorically false."
"Iran never delivered a message giving us the time and the targets," he said.
He said Israel is in a stronger position and Iran weakened after Israel, with the help of U.S. and other partners, fended off hundreds of missiles and drones unleashed by Tehran over the weekend.
Kirby said "much of the world today is standing with Israel" while G7 partners, at President Joe Biden's direction, are working on new, multilateral sanctions to target Iran's missile program.
"That's the upshot here: A stronger Israel, weaker Iran and more unified alliance of partners," Kirby told reporters. "That was not Iran's intent when it launched this attack on Saturday night, not even close. And again, they failed. They failed utterly."
