U.S. Officials: Israel Narrowing Down Targets For Strike on Iran

Israel appears to have narrowed down attacks on Iranian military and energy infrastructure in response to the adversary's Oct. 1 missile barrage, but there is no indication that it plans to target nuclear facilities or try to assassinate anyone, according to U.S. officials.

The Israelis have not made any final decision about when they will act or what they will do, reports NBC News on Saturday, quoting unnamed sources.

The Iranian attack, which was launched in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the assassinations of several allies, including Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, caused little damage to Israeli targets.

The U.S. officials said they do not know when Israel's response could come, stressing that the Israeli military is ready to strike at any time. However, they said that Israel hasn't shared a specific timeline and they were not sure if the country's officials have agreed on when the retaliatory attack will launch.

However, the U.S. and Israel said a response could come during the Yom Kippur holiday, but that began at sundown Friday and ended at nightfall on Saturday.

The U.S. officials said that Israel has shared more details about their plans but they were not releasing the information because of concerns over operational security.

However, they said the United States will defend its assets in the region from an Iranian counterattack but does not plan to provide direct military support for Israel's operation.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant spoke Friday night, discussing Israel's response, but it was not clear whether Gallant gave any concrete details about the plans.

They spoke in a call after Israel's Cabinet met about the retaliation, but Gallant didn't share details about the targets the Israelis discussed.

President Joe Biden has called on Israel to make their response proportional to Iran's bombings, with the United States urging Israel to stick to military targets while avoiding energy and nuclear facilities.

Officials said Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn't discuss specifics during their call this week.

However, Biden urged Netanyahu to bring an end to the fighting and to focus on the humanitarian issues being faced in Gaza and Lebanon. Further, he stressed that Israel must consider the difficulties of a two-front war and fighting against Lebanon and Iran at the same time.