Biden ordered the US military to help Israel shoot down Iranian missiles

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he had ordered the U.S. military to help Israel fire Iranian missiles – an attack, Biden said, that appeared to be “repelled and ineffective.”

“This is a testament to the military capability of Israel and the U.S. military,” Biden said in his first on-camera remarks on the subject. “It is also evidence of the intensive planning between the United States and Israel to anticipate and deter the bold attack we expected.”

“Make no mistake, the United States fully supports Israel,” Biden added.

Vice President Kamala Harris said in her own remarks that she “fully supports” Biden’s order to help shoot down Iran’s missiles and that her support for Israel is “unwavering.”

“I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms,” Harris said. “I have clear eyes. Iran is a destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East, and today’s attack on Israel only further underscores that fact.”

Officials described Tuesday’s events as a “significant escalation” by Iran in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week.

Iran fired about 200 ballistic missiles at various targets inside Israel, Pentagon Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters. Two U.S. Navy destroyers stationed in the eastern Mediterranean – the USS Bulkeley and the USS Cole – fired “approximately a dozen” missile interceptors at the incoming barrage, Ryder said.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan, who attended the White House news conference, said the administration was not currently aware of any “damage to aircraft or strategic military installations in Israel.”

Biden and Harris monitored the Iranian attack on Israel from the White House Situation Room and received regular updates from their national security team, Sullivan said.

Biden said his team is in constant contact with Israeli officials and will continue to share updates. He has not yet spoken to Netanyahu.

Asked how he would like Israel to respond, Biden said it would be an “active discussion.”

“This is an active discussion right now. We will clarify all the data, we are in constant contact with the Israeli government and our colleagues and that remains to be seen,” he said.

The Biden administration has long opposed a major regional conflict in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Asked at the White House briefing whether Biden would recommend a limited response to Israel, as he did after the Iranian attack on Israel in April, Sullivan declined to answer.

“I will not share the president’s recommendations from this podium. He will have the opportunity to communicate them directly. We will, as I said, have ongoing consultations with the Israelis this afternoon and this evening. “It’s too early for me to tell you publicly anything about our assessment or our expectations of the Israelis or the advice we’re going to give them,” Sullivan said.

Before the attack began, the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss the threat of an imminent Iranian attack on Israel.

President Biden was scheduled to speak with rabbis ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, but the White House said the conversation has now been postponed.

One of the first reactions from Capitol Hill came from Southern GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, who called the Iranian missile attack on Israel a “breaking point” and called for a response.

“I would urge the Biden administration to coordinate an overwhelming response with Israel, starting with Iran’s ability to process oil,” Graham said in a statement. He called for oil refineries to be “hit hard.”

House Republican leadership later released a joint statement calling on the Biden-Harris administration to send a strong message to Iran following the attack on Israel. According to his spokesman, House Speaker Mike Johnson has been briefed on the Iranian attacks on Israel.

“The world watches as Israeli families seek safety and security as waves of rocket attacks light the skies,” the joint statement said. “We pray for their safety and call on the Biden-Harris Administration to send a clear message to the Iranian regime that this unwarranted violence and terror must end. The appeasement strategy has failed and a ban policy is not enough.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell also said Iran would face “serious consequences” and called on the administration to “replenish Israel’s supply of critical munitions” after Iran launched missile attacks on Israel.

“It is not enough to make statements. It is not enough to intercept missiles and drones just before they reach civilians in Israel or U.S. personnel in the Red Sea. It’s time for America to behave like the friend of Israel we claim to be.” “It’s time to replenish Israel’s supply of critical munitions,” McConnell said.

ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.