Israel has provided no assurances that it will not target Iranian nuclear facilities, a senior State Department official told CNN

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CNN
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A senior US State Department official told CNN on Friday that Israel has not provided assurances to the Biden administration that targeting Iranian nuclear facilities is off the table in response to Iranian missile strikes earlier this week.

The official added that it was “really hard to know” whether Israel would use the anniversary of the October 7 attacks by Hamas to retaliate.

“We hope and expect that we will see some wisdom as well as strength, but as you guys know, there are no guarantees,” the official said in response to a CNN question about whether Israel had assured the United States that Iranian nuclear sites were not on the table.

US officials expressed support for Israel’s response to the Iranian missile attack earlier this week, with several officials publicly saying there should be consequences. Meanwhile, officials also expressed concerns about a regional conflagration as they grapple with an increasingly turbulent Middle East.

President Joe Biden said earlier this week that the United States would not support Israel targeting Iran’s nuclear program.

“If I were in their place, I would consider alternatives other than striking the oil fields,” Biden said in a press conference on Friday.

Bolton ponders what Israel should do against Iran in the wake of Biden’s statements

American officials also do not yet have clarity about when a decision on the Israeli response will be made or issued. The president said Friday that Israel “will not make a decision immediately.”

“It’s really hard to know,” the senior State Department official said when asked by CNN whether Israel would use the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack to retaliate against Iran.

“I think in some ways they want to avoid the seventh day, so in my estimation if there is anything it will likely be before or after it,” the official said, referring to the prestige of that day and any Israeli retaliation that would likely deprive us of peace. What was that day all about?

The official said that the United States has been working for nearly a year to prevent the conflict from turning into a larger war, and has done so so far. “Right now, this is on the edge,” the official added.

Biden said on Friday that US officials are in contact with their Israeli counterparts “12 hours a day.”

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Wednesday that there were “major efforts on both sides to keep the lines of communication open and make sure points of view are understood.”

“There have been moments of surprise, I don’t think it’s a secret, over the last couple of months,” he admitted.

“With regard to the Iranian attack on Israel, it is not only Israel that is considering response options; “It’s the United States, too,” Campbell said at an event at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“Our overriding message is: Let’s pay close attention to everything we do with regard to Iran,” Campbell said.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Nikki Carvajal contributed to this report.