By Trevor Hunnicutt and Maayan Lubell
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, Israeli officials said, for talks expected to include a discussion of Israeli plans for a retaliatory strike on Iran.
The call, under way late Wednesday morning U.S. time, was the leaders’ first known chat since August and coincided with a sharp escalation of Israel’s conflict with both Iran and Iran-backed Hezbollah with no sign of an imminent ceasefire deal to end the conflict with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.
The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel’s response to a missile attack last week that Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel’s military escalation in Lebanon. The Iranian attack ultimately killed no one in Israel and Washington called it ineffective.
Netanyahu has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the oil-producing region which could draw in the United States.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Maayan Lubell; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Howard Goller)
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