US not seeking war with Iran: National Security spokesman

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby

Washington, April 15 - The US does not want to go to war with Iran, a White House national security spokesman has said.

Appearing on CNN's State of the Union news program one day after Iran launched attacks against Israel, US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby on Sunday was asked by host Jake Tapper if the Biden administration supports an Israeli retaliatory operation directly aimed at targets inside Iran.

"As the President has said many times, we don't seek a wider war in the region. We don't seek a war with Iran. And I think I'll leave it at that," he said.

Kirby seemed to be showing more restraint in his remarks, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to US media reports citing White House officials, President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone on Saturday night that the US would neither participate in nor support any offensive operations by Israel against Iran.

Iran and allied armed groups launched coordinated drone and missile strikes on Israel late Saturday night in retaliation for a strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria two weeks ago.

--IANS