Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke over the phone with US President Joe Biden, for the first time since August amid rising tensions between Israel and its arch-foe Iran, both Netanyahu's office and the White House confirmed.
The talk was "direct" and "productive," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a later briefing on Wednesday. And the two leaders "continued to have a discussion on Israel's response to the (Iranian) attack last week," without offering specifics.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a video threatening a "lethal" retaliation against Iran's October 1 attack, in which Tehran claims was in response to alleged Israeli assassinations of key resistance figures, including Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, according to the Xinhua news agency.
The attack of Iran had about 180 ballistic missiles, which, despite making some airbase and residential buildings faulty, did not kill a single person.
Warning that the Iranian attack was a failure, Gallant said, "Our (retaliatory) strike will be lethal, précised, and, above all, surprising -- they'll not know what happened and how it happened. They will witness the outcome."
Israeli media reported earlier Tuesday that Netanyahu, along with top Israeli officials, made critical decisions Tuesday night during a meeting on an expected Israeli strike against Iran.
According to The Times of Israel, senior sources pointed out Iranian military installations as the primary target Israeli retaliation would aim at, although this approach might change.
