Biden: Israel Must 'Respond Proportionally' to Iran Attack as Danon Calls it 'Assault on Our Very Existence'

JERUSALEM, Israel – Retaliation from Israel for Iran's massive missile attack could come quickly. Yet, if that includes hitting Iranian nuclear facilities, President Joe Biden says he's not on board.

In the battle on the Lebanese border, Israeli ground forces suffered their first combat deaths.

Israeli officials indicate retaliation for Iran's 181-missile attack on Tuesday will be swift.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with top military and civilian leaders to mull over options. 

Targets could include Iran's oil rigs or even its nuclear facilities, where the Islamist regime is moving swiftly toward producing nuclear weapons. 

President Biden was asked if he'd support strikes against those nuclear facilities.

"The answer is no," he responded. "We'll be discussing with the Israelis what they're going to do."  

Biden said Israel must respond proportionally.

After United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres failed to immediately and specifically condemn Iran for its attack, Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused Guterres of being deeply anti-Israel. Katz declared him "persona non grata" in Israel.

Katz is also angry that Guterres still has yet to condemn Hamas' October 7th atrocities. 

As he posted on X, "A secretary-general who gives backing to terrorists, rapists, and murderers from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran – the mother ship of global terror – will be remembered as a stain on the history of the U.N."

After Katz's criticism, Guterres declared, "I again strongly condemn yesterday's massive missile attack by Iran on Israel." 

At the same Security Council meeting where Guterres spoke, Iran's U.N. Ambassador declared Tuesday's missile attack was a "necessary and proportionate response" to what he called Israel's "continued terrorist aggressive acts."

Those include wiping out most of the top leaders of Iran's proxy army, Hezbollah, booby-trapping thousands of Hezbollah's beepers and walkie-talkies to explode, and an invasion of Israel Defense Forces ground troops to clear out the terror group.

Eight of those troops died in skirmishes with Hezbollah fighters this week, and their bodies were evacuated soon after.

Yet, the mission continues to find and destroy terrorist tunnels, infrastructure, and weapons, hidden all over southern Lebanon.

Iran has warned that if Israel keeps escalating its war against Hezbollah or comes after Iran, the regime will hit Israelis much harder. 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared, "Definitely if they want to do something wrong, they will receive a far stronger response than what was demonstrated (Tuesday) night."

Israelis are also on edge because they're marking Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, this week – a time of heightened alert for attacks.

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon claims Iran has already proven with Tuesday's massive attack that it's genocidal toward the Jews.

“This was not just an escalation. It was a direct assault on our very existence," Danon charged.

Millions of Israelis took to shelters while the missiles were hurled toward their nation. For many, however, faith conquered fear.

One Israeli, Shoshana Grady, insisted, "We were not afraid. There's someone from above that is watching over us. God is guarding the people of Israel. We have nothing to fear."

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