The White House promises “serious consequences” after Iran’s “depressed and ineffective” attack on Israel

WASHINGTON – The White House promised Tuesday that Iran would face “serious consequences” for its ballistic missile attacks on Israel on Tuesday – but declined to provide details about them.

The United States helped Israel successfully repel the approximately 180 missiles that Tehran dropped on the Jewish state, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters, as the Pentagon noted that the American destroyers USS Cole and USS Bulkeley had about a dozen interceptors fired projectiles at Iranians.

“This attack appears to have been repelled and ineffective,” Sullivan emphasized.

“We are proud of the actions we have taken together with Israel to protect and defend Israel,” he continued. “We have made it clear that this attack will have consequences – serious consequences – and we will work with Israel to make this happen.”

Sullivan added that Tuesday’s attack was a “significant escalation on Iran’s part, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to become stronger with Israel.”

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris monitored the attack from the Situation Room, the latter said in brief remarks Tuesday afternoon.

“Iran is a destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East, and today’s attack on Israel only further underscores that fact,” Harris said. “I fully support President Biden’s order for the U.S. military to shoot down Iranian missiles targeting Israel, just as we did in April.”

The 2024 Democratic presidential candidate also said she will “always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist militias.”

“Let us be clear that Iran is not just a threat to Israel. “Iran also poses a threat to American personnel in the region, American interests and innocent civilians throughout the region who suffer at the hands of Iran-based and supported terrorist proxies,” she said.

“We will never hesitate to take all necessary measures to defend our forces and interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists, and we will continue to work with our allies and partners to disrupt Iran’s aggressive behavior and hold them accountable to pull,” she added.

Biden, meanwhile, said the relative ineffectiveness of the “knocked-down” attack was a “testament to Israel’s military prowess”… [and] intensive planning [between] The United States and Israel must anticipate and defend against a bold attack.”

“Make no mistake, the United States fully supports Israel,” he said.

But Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on social media that attacks on Israel by Tehran and its proxy groups would only increase.

“With God’s help, the blows of the insurgency front will become stronger and more painful for the worn and decaying body of the Zionist regime,” Khamenei said in a statement posted on X.

As of Tuesday afternoon Eastern Time, Israeli officials had attributed one death – a Palestinian in the West Bank city of Jericho – and two injuries to the barrage.

“We will now consider what next steps are appropriate to first and foremost protect American interests and then promote stability to the greatest extent possible,” said Sullivan, who was cautious when asked what those steps might be.

“We subsequently had some initial discussions with the Israelis at the military level and also at the level of the White House and the Prime Minister’s Office,” he said. “We will continue these discussions in the coming hours.”

At the State Department, spokesman Matthew Miller said the Harris-Biden administration “will coordinate with [Israel] on what the answer might look like.”

“This attack must have consequences for Iran – we have made it clear that there must be consequences,” he said. “I won’t go into the consequences today, but there are things on which we will coordinate with our Israeli colleagues.”

Israel reportedly planned on Tuesday to launch “strong airstrikes across the Middle East” in response to Iran’s attack.

This is a developing story; Refresh the page for updates.