Less than three hours ago, iran launched a Missile Attack on israel. Here again was the scene from inside of Tel Aviv. [ sirens ] the missiles reached Israels Air Space after a Shooting Attack was reported in Tel Aviv which officials are calling a suspected Terror Attack. At least eight people were killed. Joining us now from jerusalem, erin mcloughlin. Also Nbc News chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel whos in lebanon. Erin, we havent really touched base on the news from jaffa and the suspected Terror Attack that killed according to officials, at least eight people. Reporter yes, thats right. We are hearing from israeli officials that shortly before the Missile Attack from iran, two suspected terrorists aboard a train in jaffa left the train, Opening Fire indiscriminantly killing a number of israelis and wounding before they were shot and killed by israeli security forces. Medics on the scene really describe just this chilling attack. That attack unfolded as iran opened fire and were now getting new details in interpreters of the Size And Scope of irans Missile Attack on israel according to an official. 180 missiles, an Israeli Military official. 180 missiles were fired from iran toward israel and thats significant because if you remember when iran fired a barrage of missiles toward israel back in april, it was estimated that that Missile Attack was 110 to 120 missiles. So this is a significant escalation in that regard. We are hearing from Israeli Military officials that no casualties from this latest attack have been reported so far. Damage assessments are underway. Israeli military officials saying there have been limited impacts in central and southern israel. We understand that at the military headquarters there in Tel Aviv, they are meeting and the Israeli Military spokesperson says there will be a response to this attack. The question of course being how will israel calibrate its response key factors in this of course is damage done from the missile strike, the number of casualties. Again, we have not heard of any casualties so far, as well as input from united states officials all along have been urging a deescalation. They are very concerned about the prospect of a broader regional conflict. Theres still damage assessment, were awaiting that within israel. Again, 180 missiles fired from iran according to the israeli estimate. Richard, theres also a, you know, a limited Ground Incursion if you want to call it that. Happening in lebanon. What is the status of that . Whats going on . Well, there is a Ground War that has begun here in lebanon and so far, it is limited and i think it is all connected. Because israel has connected it. Because these groups are connected. Iran backed hezbollah. In many ways, hezbollah was the most powerful proxy, the most powerful Weapon Iran had in its arsonal. Israel has long seen hezbollah as the iranian sword hanging over its northern border and over the last two weeks, israel has been dismisling hezbollah. We have to go to matt mat miller. Lets join us in condemning it. Secretary blinken joined President Biden, Vice PresidentHarris And Other Members of the president s national Security Team in monitoring this attack as it was unfolding. As well as our response. As the president has made clear, our support for Israels Security is ironclad. We will continue to stand with the people of israel at this critical moment. With that, matt. Thanks, matt. So, i think this probably goes without saying but just to make sure we get it on record. In terms of what happened in israel, no damage to any u. S. Facilities. No injuries, no nothing. At this time, we are not aware of any damage to u. S. Facilities. As you know, we issued an order earlier today for our personnel. State department personnel and israel to shelter at their homes. We have full accountability for our personnel. Were not aware of any civilian casualties inside israel. Let alone an american citizen casualty. Theres one report of a palestinian who died in the West Bank but no. No damage to any u. S. Facility either. And then both you and the national Security Adviser just a few minutes ago talked about this being a brazen and unacceptable escalation. Does the administration see anything that israel has done over the course of the last three weeks as escalatory . Certainly, they have done things to expand the conflict but if you look at the actions that they have taken, they were bringing terrorists to justice. Terrorists who have launched attacks on israeli civilians. If you look at what iran did today, we have been warning for some time about the threat posed by iran harming and funding Terrorist Groups across the Middle East and the Attack Today just demonstrated the danger of those actions. What you saw was iran launching a state on State Attack to protect and defend the Terrorist Groups that has built, nurtured and controls. So there is a difference between the actions we have seen israel take. I just wanted to make sure that you didnt see we have certainly seen iran, israel, expand the nature of its attacks against hezbollah but its a very different type of attack than what we saw today from a State Actor against another state. Okay. Last one. This has to do with lebanon on the northern front. The situation there, you know, unstable and uncertain. I know that you guys have been asking americans who might want information about assistance and possibly leaving to sign up on a form. Can you give us an update on the numbers so that is the update from the State Department, Matt Miller saying that this is not iran protecting itself. This is iran protecting a u. S. Designated Terror Organization that it uses as its proxy. Joining us now, former Prime Minister of israel. Thank you so much for joining us once again. What is your response to what youve witnessed today . Very clear. Yesterday, you asked me whether we have adopted a policy of might as you called it. What we can see now is that iran adopted a policy of might. Very vicious, Aggressive. 180 Ballistic Missiles. Warheads of approximately 1000 kilos each. Some landing in the center of Tel Aviv this evening. Its not a game. Its a serious event and i believe i dont know, i dont speak for the government, but i believe it would be by israel and it would be a very painful counteroffensive. I dont think that israel wants to extend this into an All Out War with iran but i dont think theres any country in the world which has been affected by 180 Ballistic Missiles of this size, this nature. To send off from the country where forcing 10 Million people seeking shelters, defending themselves from these Missiles Wouldnt react in a matter that would deter the attack from repeating and i hope this will be the nature of our reaction tonight. Prime minister, i have Elon Pinkus here. He thinks retaliation is a bad idea. They says this is irans retaliation for what they were able to do to a leader and the leader inside of iran. Is it a good idea to strike back and to make it as you said you believe it will be, painful . I always amazed sometimes at the sense of humor of some. Israel never took responsibility for the targeting of one individual that was hit, who was a little terrorist organization and was recognized as such. By the international community. We were attacked by iran this evening with 180 Ballistic Missiles. Each of 1,000 kilos. They have been intercepted most by americans and israelis. Were grateful to america. For assisting us to protect israelis from this terrible attack. By helping us To Intercept so many of these missiles. Had one targeted one Apartment Building in the center of Tel Aviv, hundreds of people have been killed. This is a matter of trying to put things in right perspective. For iran. The iranian will continue to shoot missiles against israel. Will continue to supply these missiles with hezbollah and hamas and run militias in Iraq And Syria and will pay a certain price for doing it. And i think that this has been clarified by the united states, but the State Department. By the president himself over the last few weeks. I think we have to think of how we can reduce the desire of the iranian to carry on these attacks and if we have to do it by using the exceptional capacities of israel as they were manifested vaguely in lebanon, then i think well have to believe. Thank you very much for joining us. I appreciate it. Joining us again so quickly after yesterdays interview. To the pentagon. Everyone, thanks very much for your patience. Delayed start time today. Just a couple of things. As youre aware, iran conducted a significant attack against israel launching approximately 200 Ballistic Missiles targeting several locations in israel. We condemned these attacks and call on iran to halt any further attacks including from its proxy forces. During the attack, the u. S. Military coordinated closely with the israeli defense forces to help defend israel. Us Navy Destroyers supported the defense of israel by firing approximately a Dozen Intercepters. Initial reports indicate that israel was able To Intercept the majority of missiles and there was minimal damage on the ground, but id refer you to israel for confirmation and questions as theyre in a better position to discuss. Please note were still assessing the Attack And Outcome so numbers may change as we receive updates. Additionally, no u. S. Personnel were harmed during the iranian Missile Attack. Secretary austin, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and u. S. Central Command Commander have been in constant contact with President Biden and Vice President harris throughout the day to consult on the situation and u. S. Actions. In addition to his Phone Call earlier this morning with Israeli Minister DefenseGa Atlanta prior to the iranian attack, Secretary Austin spoke to the minister again just a short while ago to get an update. He reaffirmed the united states ironclad commitment and that the u. S. Remains well postured to protect u. S. Forces and defend israel in the face of threats from iran and iranbacked terrorist organizations. Well provide a readout of that call as soon as possible. To be crystal clear, as Secretary Austin has said, should iran, partners or proxies use to moment to target american personnel in the region, the united states will take every necessary measure to defend our people. Separately, i have an update to provide on dod support to Hurricane Helene Response efforts but ill provide that at The End. Happy to take questions. Ap. What Navy Destroyers were helping involve, Shoot Down, and intercept . And given this escalation, whats being communicated between Secretary Austin and galant . The two involved were the uss and cole. In terms of the conversations between Secretary Austin and minister galant, wont get into the private discussions other than to say we are consulting on next steps and the continued defense of israel. Are there any plans underway to Conduct A given the increased risk of wider war . Right now, there has been no order to evacuate. We are a Planning Organization so we plan for all contingencies but as of right now, State Department has not called for an evacuation. Should we assume the sm3s were used to Shoot Down the missiles . Im not going to get into the specific type of ordnance other than to say they fired a Dozen Intercepters. Iran said they gave a Heads Up to the u. S. And to russia. How much warning were you given by iran . Im not aware of any prewarning by iran about their potential attack. As you know, this is something weve been following very closely for a while. Based on the threat of retaliation by iran so weve been closely consulting with israel for a while now to be prepared in the eventually and as today demonstrated, we were prepared and we were able to successfully work alongside israel to defend them from this attack. Thanks, pat. You said that the destroyer shot down iranian missiles. Where did they come from . Where they all from inside iran or were some from inside iran . Were still assessing this. These were all launched from iran. Ballistic missiles and what i said was that they fired the intercepters towards those missiles. Were any other u. S. Assets involved . In this defense . Of course, we have a lot of capability in the region. A lot of things that are there to be prepared for a wide variety of threats but for the launching of these intercepters, it was the two destroyers. No Ground Bases were used in this. Were you aware of any duds that didnt fire off and iran wanted to fire more than the roughly 200 . Wer still assessing the outcome of the attack and so well have much more information later but these are all our initial reports. Then on the second call with the Secretary And Mr. Galant, did he urge israel not to respond or to moderate any response to iran or did galant share any of israels intentions . Im sure you can appreciate im just not going to be able to get into the details of their call other than to say again were consulting closely about next steps. And the continued defense of israel. What is Secretary Austin think about the potential for an israeli response here . Does he, would he urge them without saying what he said in the call necessarily, but what are his feelings about the potential . Would he urge them restraint . If you take a step back here, we fully support israeli right to defend itself. You saw a very significant ballistic Missile Attack by iran against israel. And so you know, well continue to work alongside them to support their defense. We of course do not want to see a wider regional conflict. Youve heard us say that many times and well continue to work towards that end but we also fully understand the fact that this was a significant attack by iran and so were going to continue to consult closely and were going to continue to support their defense. Thank you. Just a couple of clarifications. You say that the u. S. Destroyers had intercepted or shot down missiles or just fired . They fired approximately a Dozen Intercepters against the incoming iranian missiles. Were there any u. S. Aircraft that shot . What ive read out is what participated in the defense of israel. Just one more. Can you say if there were any drones or Cruise Missiles involved . Again, still assessing it right now. Appears it was Ballistic Missiles. No drones. Well continue to assess. Joseph. Just want to turn to the israeli invasion of lebanon. For the past couple of months, the Department And Secretary have called for deescalation. You guys have voiced your opposition to any Ground Incursion, invasion operations. After we found out that the israeli strike last week killed the hezbollah chief, seems like the tone changed for the statements last night, the Department Secretary said they supported what israel is doing. So what changed for a change in that tone and that Stance And Department . Yeah, i think the biggest thing is we fully support israels right to defend itself against hezbollah as we understand it. They will be conducting limited operations to destroy hezbollah infrastructure thats arrayed along the border there that could be used to threaten israeli citizens. So were continuing to consult with the israelis to better understand how they intend to go forward. Obviously, i refer you to talk or ask questions about details regarding those operations. But we fully understand as part of their overall efforts to return people home that they do need to address those threats that are along the border there. And so all that to say we will continue to consult with the israelis and other partners in the region longterm about how we can deescalate those tensions and get to a cease fire. Did they ask for any help from you guys . No. Yes, sir. Were the united states surprised by the scale of the iranian attack on israel . Well, look. Like i said before, weve been monitoring this for a while. Iran had been very public about its threats to retaliate. And so its something that weve been monitoring. Certainly, this was a significant attack. Probably about twice the size in terms of scope of what we saw earlier. But again, were still assessing the outcomes of this. And as i highlighted at the top, we certainly condemn this reckless, direct attack against israel and well continue to support israels defense. Several israeli media spoke about Response Tonight to this attack including some not just iran. Some other Middle Eastern countries. Will the united states be assisting the israelis in the response . Im not going to speculate about hypotheticals. Id refer you to the israelis to talk about you know will The Americans help them with the what youre asking me is if theyre going to do something and im saying im not going to speculate what if or what they may do. As i referred you to colleagues in terms of next steps with the emphasis being the defense of israel. This side of the room. Warren. Essentially a follow up to that question. Is the u. S. Willing to strike iran in response to this . Are you putting that on or off the table . Again, i dont want to get into hypotheticals. I think i was very clear at the top that should u. S. Forces be targeted by iran or its proxies, well take necessary steps to defend our people and i think weve been clear that were going to support the defense of israel. And so not going to get into theoretical or speculative operations at this stage other than to say you know, we mean what we say and we say what we mean. Follow up question. Iran claims to have used a new missile which is supposed to be a hypersonic Ballistic Missile. Can you assess whether they did use new and advanced weaponry in this attack and what did they learn from the April Attack . Again, were still assessing the attack and the outcomes and so we may have more to provide later but i dont have anything on that right now. Dan. Thanks for your time. Two questions, please. On Secretary Austins statement last night, we referred to being supportive of operations along the border. Is he open to israel using operations on both sides of the border . On the border was a little vague there. I think id go back to how i responded to joseph. We understand and support israels right to defend itself against hezbollah as we highlighted in the read out. We understand that part of that is dismantling some of the Attack Infrastructure that hezbollah has built along the border. Certainly again we dont want to see this you know, broaden into a wider regional conflict but we understand again that what israel is doing are limited operations to destroy that Attack Infrastructure. And then enable citizens on both sides of the border to return home. Ultimately, at The End of the day, we think that a diplomatic resolution is the only way to achieve lasting Stability And Security across the Israel Lebanon Border so were going to continue to work to that end, but we also understand israels need to defend itself. The State Department read out a report on a attack on diplomatic facility, Baghdad Airport last night. Have you seen any other attacks on u. S. Forces i guess since friday . This one would seem to be on a diplomatic facility. Particularly on this day or just broadly over the last couple of days . As of now, im not aware of any additional attacks. Thanks. Sir. The iron dome. How effective is it against Ballistic Missiles and some of the televised images appear to show Something Landing on infrastructure. Are you aware of that . Was this attack more effective than the iranian attack in april . Again, understanding that a lot is still very initial as i highlighted, initial indications was there there was minimal damage on the ground. In terms of the specifics, id have to refer you to israel to really talk through that. Again, as more information comes in, well know more. But the initial assessment is that israel was able to successfully defend itself. Of course with the support from the u. S. And so again, we may have more later on that. Thanks, pat. I just want to be clear because it seems look were in a very dangerous time where any kind of ambiguity from the u. S. Could lead to an attack on american troops and when you say, i understand when you say that were going to defend any attack as american troops. I also understand that you said no american troops were hurt therefore, are you saying the u. S. Is not planning on a strike against iran . Because right now when you say there will be consequences, all of that, youre leaving it vague and people dont understand. Are we going to be joining israel in hitting back against iran in a Kin Etic Manner . With all due respect, youre talking about a hypothetical future and presupposing what Israel May or may not do. You said there will be consequences and Jake Sullivan said there will be consequences. I think broadly speaking, you know, the u. S. Has been clear that there will be security, economic consequences should iran attack but i just dont have anything to preview specifically as it relates to that. Yes, sir. Thanks, pat. Just to clarify. Did any u. S. Aircraft track any of the missiles either before the launch or during the attack even if they werent involved in the attack . I wont go into specifics other than we have a wide variety of isr capabilities throughout the region to monitor and track potential ariel threats to include aircraft that do that. Ill just leave it there. Okay. Charlie. Thank you, general. You said repeatedly that iran doesnt telegraph these attacks yet from earlier this morning, we were told an attack would be imminent. So were getting some sort of information from somewhere. Based on whatever that was based on, where is iran stand now . This is just the first salvo from your assessment . Are they positioned to go ahead and pull the trigger again at will . Thats really a question for iran. You know, as evidenced by this attack, they certainly maintain the capability to Conduct Additional attack. We call on them to halt any further attacks and well continue to assess and be prepared in the defense of israel should they opt to do another one. We certainly hope they do not, but we have to be prepared in that eventuality. I just want to clarify. I think you said earlier this is twice the Size And Scope from the attack of april 13th. Yeah. Its about twice as large. Do you believe it was their attempt to do damage this time . You dont launch that many missiles at a target without the intent of hitting something. Absolutely. Just like the last time. Their intent is to cause destruction. Fortunately, israel has very significant Air Defense capabilities and the u. S. Played a role in helping on that front as well. Thank you. Thanks, pat. You said theres been no new attacks on the u. S. Forces but is the Department Tracking A greater threat now to u. S. Forces and are you taking any extra measures on top of the recent youve done for Force Group Protection . As you know, were always taking Force Protection seriously. Were all very well aware of the heightened tensions in the region and u. S. Central command has been for a long time now you know, constantly assessing and reassessing the threat to ensure our forces are protected. Like i mentioned, im not aware of any additional attacks beyond the one that dan mentioned. But its something that well be keeping a close eye on to protect our forces. Secondly, were there any other nations other than the united states and israel who took part in intercepting missiles or helping to track them or anything like that . Yeah, i dont have anything to provide on that. Obviously i wouldnt speak for other countries from here. Id like to ask if you talked to your and if you asked for Military Support to protect from another attack from israel or is the moment its only the u. S. Helping israel. Ill allow other countries to speak for themselves. I will say and well put a readout on this this afternoon. As soon as were done here. The secretary had an opportunity to talk to his french counterpart earlier this morning. Just to talk about the situation in the Middle East. This was before the iranian attack occurred. And so well get that out momentarily. Prodly broadly speaking, in terms of any European Coordination or cooperation with israel, thats really for individual countries. To the phone real quick before i get in trouble. Task in purpose, jeff. Thank you. I understand that the destroyers fired about a Dozen Intercepters. Did they hit any of the missiles . If so, how many . Thanks, jeff. As you highlight, they fired the intercepters. Were still assessing again outcomes of that. So i cant really, i dont have more information to provide at the time. We go to heather from usni. Thank you so much. You mentioned the united states has the Ability And Intent to respond to any of its Service Members are attacked. On friday, you had three u. S. , two u. S. Destroyers and lcs come under attack from the houthis, which is an iranian proxy group. Is there any i guess any attention to any launch any attacks in response to those sfls members coming under attack . First of all, heather, as you are aware, you know, there were no u. S. Service members injured in any of those attacks and as always, we will respond appropriately at a time and place of our choosing but im not going to telegraph or speculate on any punches at this time. Patrick tucker, defense. On the announcements of three additional aircraft squadrons, i presume they were not involved in any of the interception activity. Can you talk about why theyre there and what role they might fill now in terms of enhancing security for u. S. Forces in the region . Yeah, absolutely. As weve been highlighting for a while, we have a robust amount of capability in the Central Command in u. S. European command regions. And what those capabilities provide us is versatility in terms of responding to a variety of contingencies so you know, basically having the right tools in the toolkit to be able to respond appropriately to any type of Attack Or Contingency situation. As you well know, pat, Fighter Aircraft can provide a variety of missions to include taking down drones, taking down missiles. Particular kind of missiles as well as providing Isr Electronic Warfare and types of capabilities. So this comes together to provide us with options on how best to respond to any type of attack and to protect our forces. Back to the room here. Yes, maam. Thank you, general. First on iran. After Todays Attack and expected response from israel, does the assessment of the pentagon still that the situation in the Middle East still under control and were not in All Out War yet and the second question on lebanon. Whats your understanding to what israel is falling limited Ground Operations for incursion. Is it limited by like in time, in scope. How do you see this. Weve been working hard from the beginning to prevent a wider regional conflict. Certainly the type of Aggressive action we saw by Iran Today makes that more challenging. That remains our focus so well continue to stay laser focused on that. In terms of israels operations again, theyre in the best position again to answer questions but our answering in consulting with them is that these operations will be focused on Dismantling Facilities that hezbollah has built to stage attacks into israel. Part of those discussions have been focused on making sure that theres an understanding as far as potential Mission Creep and so as it relates to the broader tensions in the region but again, we support their right to defend themselves from hezbollah attacks so well continue to consult with them on that. As i mentioned, ultimately, we do believe that a diplomatic resolution is the only way to achieve lasting Stability And Security there. Few more. Phil. Why were land based Air Defenses used and did you find, did the united states have fewer partners in trying to knock down these iranian missiles this time than it did in april . Youre going to use the capability that you need to respond to a particular situation. So as evidenced by the fact that our forces were so able to quickly support israels defense. We have a wide range of capabilities arrayed to be able to respond to whatever those threats may be in the most appropriate way possible. So its less about the platform and more about the capability. So again, we still maintain a robust capability to be able to respond to any future threats. I want to follow up on what helene was asking. I think you said a Red Line that if iran or forces were to attack u. S. Troops, there would be a response against iran. Is that correct . It should be clear that if iran or its proxies use this as an opportunity to attack u. S. Forces, we will respond appropriately. Okay. Last question. I just wanted to clarify a few things that you said. In terms of irans capabilities going forward. Is it clear from the u. S. Side that this is the imminent risk is over of an attack from iran . Look, something were going to keep an eye on. We hope theres not another attack. Were going to continue to consult with israel on next steps and more importantly, on the defense of israel. Have they provided any sort of a timeline on how long they would stay there . Id refer you to israel to talk about that. I dont think it would be appropriate for me to talk about that. Okay, again, Thats Brigadier general pat rider saying this attack by iran on israel is two times as large as the one back in april. Confirming the two u. S. Destroyers were used to help Shoot Down at least some of those missiles that were shot from iran and then emphasizing as weve heard from everybody that a diplomatic solution is the only one for lasting peace. Richard engel is in lebanon. Richard, i cut you off many, many minutes ago to go to Matt Miller at the State Department take me back to lebanon and what israel is doing right now. Reporter are we back . You kept me waiting so long, the audio went down but now were back. So i was saying to your question, you said what is israel doing in lebanon. What we saw just a short while ago with the Ballistic Missile assault, much of that counter strike, the Air Defense systems took place over our heads. Took place in lebanese Air Space because it seems the Ballistic Missiles were traveling from iran. That would put them through syria through lebanon on their way to israel. Our Colleague Raf was catching them as they were crossing on to the israeli side of the border. The Two Of Us are worlds apart politically in terms of political space. The area were in control right now is controlled more or less by hezbollah. Hes in northern israel, an area that is attacking hezbollah at the moment but we were both able to witness two sides of the counterBallistic Missile strikes. You just heard with help from the united states and i dont know if you can hear in the background, we are very close to the sea and i think looking back now based on what the admirable was just saying, i think hes an admiral, sorry. Is that the Us Navy destroyers were involved in shooting down some of those so that could have been what we saw is that the israelis were knocking down the Ballistic Missiles and perhaps The American warships were as well. On the glound, what israel is doing is conducting a Ground Invasion still seems like its a fairly small scale Ground Invasion into lebanon. And it has ordered the evacuation of several dozen, more than two dozen lebanese villages and it has declared this entire area of Southern Lebanon effectively a Military Zone telling people, telling lebanese not to come down here. Not to come down with their vehicles and that they should evacuate north. Whats interesting, what we are not seeing so far is hezbollah rushing to confront those israeli troops. Hezbollah has suffered enormous blows in the last several weeks. Entered lebanese territory but so far, this is still early days, we did not see hezbollah fighters taking the bait going in, engaging them in close quarter combat. It could be because theyve been weakened recent blows. Their Communication Systems have been destroyed. Their leader was killed or it could be theyve been playing possum, sitting back, waiting for the israelis to be drawn deeper into their territory which would be dangerous for israel and could put a group like hezbollah somewhat more on even footing. All right, richard, thank you very much. And thank you for sticking around for us. Joining us now, Senior Foal Fellow at the carnegie endowment. Good to have you. Give us the iranian calculation here. Its a difficult one because if you put yourself in the shoes of irans supreme leader, on one hand by not responding his projected weakness because over the last several months, israel has carried out major operations inside iran, assassinating the leader against hezbollahs senior leadership. By not retaliating, it sounds like it was allowing israel free punches. At the same time, if iran retaliates excessively to strongly, it really risks a major conflict in which its outmatched against israel. So hes in a very difficult position and as you mentioned a few minutes ago, this Attack Iran just launched against israel was stronger than the attack they launched in april. So i think we can only expect that israel is going to react much more harshly than they did last april. Let me ask you about the future. There have been indications and weve spoken about it on this show. That iran might want to try to revisit a new iran deal. Renegotiating something like that. More normalization in order to resuscitate the economy of iran. Is that how you see it . Iran is committed to its ideology and its death to israel and to america. But its also committed to its survival. Wants to stay, needs to stay in power, obviously. Its not a suicidal regime. Over the course of the last four and a half decades, iran has been at times willing to do tactical deals. For example, the nuclear deal of 2015. They sent out feelers that they are interested in talking about a potential smaller version of that nuclear deal and thats still on the cards. I actually dont think all of this conflict of the last 48 hours sabotages that because at The End of the day, if iran is to do, is to enter another kind of nuclear deal, theyll do it not because theyre friendly feelings towards America Or Israel but because their internal economic needs resuscitated. All right. Im going to have to leave it there. Thank you very much. Were going to go now to professor of International Relations at the London School of economics. This is your book. What really went wrong, the west and the failure of democracy many the Middle East. This moment. I heard you interviewed on cnn a few days ago ahead of the news that nasrallah was dead and ahead of this strike today. You were saying what israel was doing before the news he was dead was going to entangle israel in a forever war. That theyd never be able to get out of. They would be in lebanon for decades. Is that still how you see things . Look, we know that even the united states, the most powerful nation militarily, will not really win against a committed insurgency. Other than afghanistan or iraq. Even though the united states the 100 more stronger than israel. Symmetrical warfare, its almost impossible for other powers to win in a symmetrical warfare. Israel tried twice in 1982. It took israel 18 years and was forced to retreat after great losses for the lebanese mainly and the palestinians and israel and also into 2006. So i think what you have now where you are in the u. S. And in israel is celebration. The idea that its mission accomplished. That israel has delivered severe belows against hezbollah and it has, but hezbollah is a very deeply embedded institutionalized, not just military organization, also institutionalized organization, its ideology, stamina, resistance, political will. So, yes, at the beginning, israel will score major Tactical Wills but in the longterm, israel will be bogged down for years to come and thats how the situation it seems for us that israel is really repeating the same blunders like the united states did and how it did in, during the 1990s and 2006 as well. So we have an image i want to put it up of President Biden and Vp Harris watching things unfold in the situation room. If you were going to learn the lesson of iraq, afghanistan, of what happened in the aftermath, the rise of isis, the mistakes we made and you were going to take that into consideration now if you were israel, what do you do . Ill tell you what. You and i and all your guests are talking about really attacks, retaliation, counter retaliation, what does iran want. Whats The Big Picture here . The big picture is President Bidens colossal failure. Think. What has been the strategic goal of Joe Biden . To prevent the escalation of war from gaza into the region. You have now All Out War between israel and hamas. Between israel and hezbollah. Houthis and yemen. Now were talking about a wider regional conflict. This is really bidens war. I dont need to tell you that israeli prime Minister Netanyahu is running the clock on President Biden. He has outplayed by them. He has outsmarted biden. He has outmaneuvered biden because he wants his friend, his best friend, donald trump, to recapture the White House in november and then he will have a green light. This is really, when we talk about why we have reached this particular point, the point of a could be a trigger for a wider regional conflict, its the failure of President Biden to exert and use leverage in order to end the Blood Letting in gaza and bring about deescalation throughout the region. Thank you very much. Im going to ask elan about that in a moment but i want to get to independent journalist who is s. Nova, thank you for being with us. Youre coming from jerusalem. What is the perspective, what is the feeling among israelis right now . I would say it is pretty fragile right now. A huge feeling of relief at the massive success of israeli Air Defenses. Obviously with u. S. Support. Also with jordanian support tonight. But a feeling of real, real fear and fragility. Two of the things that happened tonight is the single iranian barrage, i believe are without precedent. One is that the entire country was targeted. 10 Million israelis were huddling in bomb shelters. So you couldnt feel safe anywhere. And that is has a huge effect on the israeli social fabric. The other thing is how long . There were nonstop sirens for five minutes, ten minutes, 20 minutes, 25 minutes. Normally, a siren lasts a part of a minute and after ten Minutes Everyone is free to go. So it is just felt like it had a different dimension. The appetite for war in israel, for opening up another front and then in lebanon, perhaps going after iran, this as the Gaza War is continuing, as the hostages are still being held. Where is the israeli head at on that . So, obviously, well have polling from the last hour or two. But we do have results of polling from you know the last few days, since israel eliminated the hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah. So that operations had quite significant support across the board in israel. Basically it was however, the government does not have support for escalating. Israelis did not seem to be in the mood for a longterm massive invasion of lebanon. And so one of the reasons that you have israeli Army Kind of playing a double game in its messaging, on the one hand saying it is invaded lebanon, trying to project a massive force. And on the other hand saying this is a controlled limited set of incursions. One of the reasons for that is that theize the israeli population does not want another massive war. So things are in a different eek will lib ram. Thank you for sticking around tonight. I appreciate it. So, alan, youve been sticking with us this whole time and im curious to get your opinion on what was just told us, which is that what were seeing in the Middle East is just a massive failure by the biden administration. That fair . Half fair. The u. S. Is paramount interest was to avert or prevent escalation. So if you look at today or the last two weeks, obviously that is not a success. The u. S. Attempt to prevent a wide conflagration is the jury is still out on that. That depends on whether or not this spirals out of control. But if you look at the entire year, at the number of times, katy, in which the u. S. Was rebuffed, defied, manipulated by mr. Netanyahu, he has a strong case. If you look at the use of munitions in gaza, the humanitarian aid, israels refusal engage the u. S. In a Post Car Gaza idea, then when went on into successive failures to achieve a ceasefire and a hostage deal. And fast forward to three days ago when basically the u. S. Said, guys, a 21day Ceasefire in lebanon is being set in motion. Where is that ceasefire . Now, you have to be also there are extenuating circumstances. Hezbollah is not deterrible by america. There is so much america could do in terms of effecting policy or having a impact on iran. Especially when Russia And China are involved. It is very fractured. And this put The American so to speak in a test that america misled itself to believe that was fine because of the performance of the biden administration, which i thought was impeccable on the ukraine crisis. But then came the Middle East and it all fell apart. So, yeah, there are mitigating circumstances, but it is true to characterize that failure. The questions that a lot of journalists have had and people on The Street In America that have been protesting this, and the question has been why would the u. S. Not use the leverage it has in our weaponry. We are arming israel and the answer ive gotten from u. S. Officials if we took away the arms to israel, we would lose a seat at the table and they would go elsewhere, they would go to russia or maybe somewhere in the Middle East. They would find it elsewhere and we could lose any leverage we might have. Im against the u. S. Curtailing armed shipments to israel. But there are other tools in The AmericanTool Box on levers of Power And Pressure that could have been used. Could have called mr. Netanyahus bluff. You could have gone to the security council. You could have pressured him. There came a point, let me just add one more thing, there came a point where it should have been clear to President Biden that netanyahu is actively seeking a confrontation with them for domestic Political Expediency and purposes and as time went by hes trying to make this a Wedge Issue in the u. S. Presidential election in 32 days. And for some reason, the administration ignored that. Weve been talking about this for two hours and i could still ask about A Hundred more questions. Do you want to stayp more. And i dont think so. Were ready for deadline White House which begins after a short break. Deadline White House which begins after a short break. Safelite came rig, and we could see exactly when theyd arrive with a replacement we could trust. 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