Johnson calls on Biden to release weapons to Israel following rocket attack on US base

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called on President Biden to release weapons to Israel after a suspected rocket attack injured several U.S. service members on the Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq.

“After repeated attacks on American troops in the region, and while Israel is under threat from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, the U.S. cannot hesitate to defend our servicemembers and our ally,” Johnson said in a Tuesday statement. 

He added that any attack by Iran against Israel or the U.S. should be “met with decisive force,” with the U.S. and its allies in the region working to “strongly counter Iran and its terror proxies to send a clear message against these malign activities.”

“We know the current Iranian aggression, backed by Chinese and Russian interests, comes after a months-long pressure campaign against Israel from the Biden-Harris Administration. Now is the time for the White House to realize their choices have brought us to the brink of disaster and give full-throated support to Israel,” Johnson continued.

“President Biden must immediately release all previously withheld and delayed weapons to Israel — so it can defend its people and deter Iran — and make clear that there will be decisive economic, military, and international ramifications should Iran engage in or support any attacks,” Johnson said.

A Defense Department spokesperson did not immediately say who was behind the rocket attack, but Iranian-backed militants have made threats against U.S. forces there.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Biden of sending a “trickle” of military munitions to Israel, the State Department has earlier said it is delivering weapons to Israel under normal processes, in a change from a “fast-track” status in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said there was no change in policy when asked by The Hill last month if the administration would switch back to fast tracking weapons. 

Biden had exercised the option of holding back weapons deliveries, pausing the shipment of heavy bombs over concern for the destruction being wrought in the Gaza Strip. But those shipments resumed last month. 

And even as Biden has grown frustrated with Netanyahu's pushing forward on the military operation against Hamas over efforts to secure a cease-fire, the administration has directed significant military assets to the Middle East in recent days to bolster defenses over a possible attack from Iran. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Johnson’s statement.