Allies urge restraint as Israel vows response to Iran attack

GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "NewsHour."

Tensions remain high in the Middle East as we wait to see if Israel responds to Iran's barrage of drones and missiles over the weekend.

President Biden said, while the U.S. commitment to Israel is unwavering, the administration's would not support a retaliatory strike.

AMNA NAWAZ: That's right, Geoff.

And another country hoping for more U.S. support is Ukraine.

I spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about that, about its war with Russia and much more.

But, first, we begin in the Middle East, where a region is on edge.

Nick Schifrin has our report.

NICK SCHIFRIN: At the site of the first ever Iranian missile strike on Israeli territory today, Israel's top general warned Iran, payback was coming.

LT. GEN. HERZI HALEVI, Chief of Staff, Israeli Defense Forces (through translator): As we look forward, we weigh our steps.

And this launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles and drones onto the territory of the state of Israel will be met with a response.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Iran's unprecedented attack of more than 300 drones and missiles lit up the sky Saturday night and Sunday morning across the country.

World leaders quickly rallied to Israel's defense.

But following U.S. officials urging Israel not to respond to Iran militarily, today, a unified European message of restraint.

French President Emmanuel Macron: EMMANUEL MACRON, French President (through translator): We are going to try to convince Israel that we should not respond by escalating.

NICK SCHIFRIN: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock: ANNALENA BAERBOCK, German Foreign Minister (through translator): Israel has won thanks to its strong air defenses.

This defensive victory must now be insured diplomatically.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And British Foreign Secretary David Cameron: DAVID CAMERON, British Foreign Secretary: So our hope is that there won't be a retaliatory response.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Israel says it blocked Iran's ballistic missiles thanks in part to its air defense system Arrow 3 built to counter Iranian threats.

They also got lucky.

Two U.S. officials confirmed that half of Iran's more than 100 ballistic missiles failed in flight.

Israel's success was also the product of a defensive coalition.

When the strikes from Iran and Iranian-backed proxies in Iraq, Syria and Yemen began, the U.S. had already made agreements with Arab states, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. military says it shot down more than 80 Iranian drones.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hopes that sets a diplomatic precedent.

YOAV GALLANT, Israeli Defense Minister (through translator): We have an opportunity to establish a strategic alliance against this grave threat by Iran, which is threatening to mount nuclear explosives on these missiles, which could be an extremely grave threat.

DANA STROUL, Washington Institute for Near East Policy: What we have seen is proof of concept that, when the security and strategic concerns of our partners align, they can absolutely work together.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Dana Stroul is the research director and a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East.

She says the shoot-downs were successful because of regional coordination that, until this, weekend was untested.

DANA STROUL: What we saw on Saturday night was proof of concept that all of this hard work, the investment in compatible radars, the investments to share classified military information in real time and the confidence-building that it took to create this regional security architecture actually works.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Iran's attack on Israel was in response to an Israeli airstrike earlier this month on Iran's consulate in Damascus that killed several top commanders.

VALI NASR, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University: They got what they wanted from the psychological and economic impact of the whole world being on edge last week.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Vali Nasr is a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

He says, even though the attacks failed militarily, Iran hopes they prevent future Israeli attacks.

VALI NASR: Iran's hope is that what happened last week will make everybody, particularly Europeans and Americans, think we don't want to be there and be there again in a week.

So that would put pressure on Israel.

And that pressures exactly the kind of deterrence that Iran was looking for.

So it's mainly political gain, rather military gain.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But, right now, while the world urges restraint, the decision of what to do next is Israel's.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.