Middle East Crisis – The New York Times

“The Israelis haven't decided yet what they're going to do – what they're going to do in terms of an attack. That is under discussion. I think there is – if I were you, I would think about other alternatives than attacking oil fields.” Reporter: “At this point, you have not spoken to Netanyahu. Is it fair to say that you have little personal influence over what he does?” “No, you see, our teams are in contact 12 hours a day. They are constantly in contact. I already had my daily briefings for the president. We already had an interface between our military and our diplomats. It is in constant contact. They're trying to figure out – it's the High Holidays too – they're not going to make a decision right away. So we'll wait and see when they want to talk. The Israelis have every right to respond to the brutal attacks on them, not just by the Iranians but by everyone from Hezbollah to the Houthis. But the fact is that they need to be much more careful when dealing with civilian casualties.” Reporter: “So how should you respond? They expressed concerns about attacks on Iranian oil facilities. How should they respond?” “That's between me and them.” Last night you said that there is still much to be done to prevent an all-out war in the Middle East. First, aren't we already pretty close to this definition? And secondly, what can you really do to prevent this? There's a lot we do. The most important thing we can do is to try to get the rest of the world and our allies to join in with the French and in Lebanon and other places to contain this. But when you have proxies as irrational as Hezbollah and the Houthis, it's hard to determine. Were you concerned that Netanyahu might try to influence the election? And that's why he didn't agree to a diplomatic solution. No government has helped Israel more than I have. None none. And I think Bibi should remember that. And I don't know whether he's trying to influence the election. But I don't expect that. You've been saying a lot lately that you want to talk to him, that you're planning it and saying, “I want that.” You don't want to. No, I didn't say that. It sounds like I'm looking for a speech. I expect we will have a discussion as they make their adjustments and how they will respond.