Decision to retaliate against Iran attacks rests with Israel, says Pentagon

WASHINGTON

Retaliating against Iran's attack on Saturday will be a decision made by Israel, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday.

"I don't want to get into hypotheticals. At this point, whether or not Israel responds to Iran's attack, of course, is something for Israel to discuss and to decide," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.

When asked has Israel informed the Pentagon if it plans to respond to the Iranian attack, Ryder said he is not going to speak for Israel.

The US does not want to see escalation, he stressed, adding Washington will take necessary measures to protect its forces in the region and to defend Israel.

Reiterating that the US does not seek conflict with Iran, Ryder said: "When it comes to any type of Israeli response, and again, I'm not going to speak for the Israelis. That is a decision for them to make in terms of what they do, if they do it and how they do it."

Iran launched more than 300 missile and drone attacks across Israel on Saturday evening in a retaliation to airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syrian capital Damascus on April 1 in which seven members of Revolutionary Guards including two generals were killed.

Ryder said the US was not informed by Iran in advance about Saturday's attack.

"We were not given specifics by Iran, into my knowledge, any specifics in terms of exact times, dates," he added. "We obviously have a robust intelligence network that provides indications and warning. But to answer your specific question: No, Iran did not tell us when and where they were going to attack".