٠٠:٠٢:٥٩Mandatory credit: The White House
US National Security spokesperson John Kirby admitted he 'knew this question was coming' as he attempted to explain how Washington could 'shoot down Iranian drones over Israel' but couldn't do the same for Ukraine, during the daily press briefing in Washington DC on Monday.
"Look, different conflicts, different conflicts, different airspace, different threat picture," he claimed.
"The president has been clear since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine the United States is not going to be involved in that conflict in a combat role and we haven't," he said. "We have been providing Ukraine the tools that they need to help defend their airspace and unfortunately, we can't do that right now because we don't have that national security supplemental funding that they so desperately need."
Kirby added that the best way to defend Israel - and Ukraine - was for Congress to pass the $95 billion package, claiming it would also "act urgently to replenish Ukraine's air defences, which also continue to be attacked every single day with the same Iranian-made drones."
The package is currently blocked with Republicans in particular concerned about the scale and effectiveness of the Ukrainian funding, with many calling for more aid for domestic border security instead. Previously, Iran has denied sending drones to Moscow amid the conflict in Ukraine - and Russia has also refuted the claims.
Meanwhile, Kirby also denied claims that Iran 'meant to fail' in the latest attack on Israel and that 'this spectacular and embarrassing failure was all by design'.
"I've also seen Iran say that they provided early warning to help Israel prepare its defences and limit any potential damage," he added. "All of this is categorically false."
"This attack was defeated thanks to our preparations to a coalition of committed partners and Israel's remarkable defensive systems," stated Kirby, emphasising that "Israel today is in a far stronger strategic position than it was only a few days ago."
The spokesperson also referred to President Joe Biden's instruction to US armed forces to "defend Israel to the maximum extent possible and defeat that attack" and reported that with the support of international partners, they "enabled Israel to spectacularly defeat it."
Regarding potential actions against Iran, Kirby declared that they "will be working to further isolate Iran internationally and increase economic and other forms of pressure."
"A stronger Israel, a weaker Iran, a more unified alliance of partners," he concluded.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel on Saturday night in Tehran's first direct attack on the Jewish state, signalling a major escalation of tensions in the region.
The attack came as a response to the alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, which killed at least seven members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including a senior Quds Force commander. Israel did not claim responsibility for that attack.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claimed Iran had launched '300 threats of various types' towards Israel, adding that '99 percent' of the rockets and drones had been intercepted. At the same time, defence minister Yoav Gallant reported that 'very little damage was caused' due to the attack.
IRGC Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri has warned that Tehran would launch a 'much bigger' offensive if Israel were to target Iranian soil in response to Saturday's attack, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was prepared to respond to a 'direct attack by Iran'.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said Washington had intercepted 'dozens of missiles and UAVs' before they had entered Israeli airspace. President Joe Biden reiterated his 'ironclad' support for Israel and said he will convene a G7 meeting on Sunday.
Russian permanent representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said Iran's attack did not 'happen in a vacuum' and accused some UN Security Council members of 'hypocrisy and double standards' during an emergency meeting in New York on Sunday.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both sides to exercise restraint and said he was 'deeply alarmed', warning of a 'very real danger' of a 'major military confrontation' on multiple fronts in the Middle East.
'I knew this question was coming!' - NSC spox asked why US can 'shoot down Iranian drones over Israel' but can't 'do same over Ukraine'
US National Security spokesperson John Kirby admitted he 'knew this question was coming' as he attempted to explain how Washington could 'shoot down Iranian drones over Israel' but couldn't do the same for Ukraine, during the daily press briefing in Washington DC on Monday.
"Look, different conflicts, different conflicts, different airspace, different threat picture," he claimed.
"The president has been clear since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine the United States is not going to be involved in that conflict in a combat role and we haven't," he said. "We have been providing Ukraine the tools that they need to help defend their airspace and unfortunately, we can't do that right now because we don't have that national security supplemental funding that they so desperately need."
Kirby added that the best way to defend Israel - and Ukraine - was for Congress to pass the $95 billion package, claiming it would also "act urgently to replenish Ukraine's air defences, which also continue to be attacked every single day with the same Iranian-made drones."
The package is currently blocked with Republicans in particular concerned about the scale and effectiveness of the Ukrainian funding, with many calling for more aid for domestic border security instead. Previously, Iran has denied sending drones to Moscow amid the conflict in Ukraine - and Russia has also refuted the claims.
Meanwhile, Kirby also denied claims that Iran 'meant to fail' in the latest attack on Israel and that 'this spectacular and embarrassing failure was all by design'.
"I've also seen Iran say that they provided early warning to help Israel prepare its defences and limit any potential damage," he added. "All of this is categorically false."
"This attack was defeated thanks to our preparations to a coalition of committed partners and Israel's remarkable defensive systems," stated Kirby, emphasising that "Israel today is in a far stronger strategic position than it was only a few days ago."
The spokesperson also referred to President Joe Biden's instruction to US armed forces to "defend Israel to the maximum extent possible and defeat that attack" and reported that with the support of international partners, they "enabled Israel to spectacularly defeat it."
Regarding potential actions against Iran, Kirby declared that they "will be working to further isolate Iran internationally and increase economic and other forms of pressure."
"A stronger Israel, a weaker Iran, a more unified alliance of partners," he concluded.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel on Saturday night in Tehran's first direct attack on the Jewish state, signalling a major escalation of tensions in the region.
The attack came as a response to the alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, which killed at least seven members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including a senior Quds Force commander. Israel did not claim responsibility for that attack.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claimed Iran had launched '300 threats of various types' towards Israel, adding that '99 percent' of the rockets and drones had been intercepted. At the same time, defence minister Yoav Gallant reported that 'very little damage was caused' due to the attack.
IRGC Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri has warned that Tehran would launch a 'much bigger' offensive if Israel were to target Iranian soil in response to Saturday's attack, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was prepared to respond to a 'direct attack by Iran'.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said Washington had intercepted 'dozens of missiles and UAVs' before they had entered Israeli airspace. President Joe Biden reiterated his 'ironclad' support for Israel and said he will convene a G7 meeting on Sunday.
Russian permanent representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said Iran's attack did not 'happen in a vacuum' and accused some UN Security Council members of 'hypocrisy and double standards' during an emergency meeting in New York on Sunday.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both sides to exercise restraint and said he was 'deeply alarmed', warning of a 'very real danger' of a 'major military confrontation' on multiple fronts in the Middle East.
Mandatory credit: The White House
US National Security spokesperson John Kirby admitted he 'knew this question was coming' as he attempted to explain how Washington could 'shoot down Iranian drones over Israel' but couldn't do the same for Ukraine, during the daily press briefing in Washington DC on Monday.
"Look, different conflicts, different conflicts, different airspace, different threat picture," he claimed.
"The president has been clear since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine the United States is not going to be involved in that conflict in a combat role and we haven't," he said. "We have been providing Ukraine the tools that they need to help defend their airspace and unfortunately, we can't do that right now because we don't have that national security supplemental funding that they so desperately need."
Kirby added that the best way to defend Israel - and Ukraine - was for Congress to pass the $95 billion package, claiming it would also "act urgently to replenish Ukraine's air defences, which also continue to be attacked every single day with the same Iranian-made drones."
The package is currently blocked with Republicans in particular concerned about the scale and effectiveness of the Ukrainian funding, with many calling for more aid for domestic border security instead. Previously, Iran has denied sending drones to Moscow amid the conflict in Ukraine - and Russia has also refuted the claims.
Meanwhile, Kirby also denied claims that Iran 'meant to fail' in the latest attack on Israel and that 'this spectacular and embarrassing failure was all by design'.
"I've also seen Iran say that they provided early warning to help Israel prepare its defences and limit any potential damage," he added. "All of this is categorically false."
"This attack was defeated thanks to our preparations to a coalition of committed partners and Israel's remarkable defensive systems," stated Kirby, emphasising that "Israel today is in a far stronger strategic position than it was only a few days ago."
The spokesperson also referred to President Joe Biden's instruction to US armed forces to "defend Israel to the maximum extent possible and defeat that attack" and reported that with the support of international partners, they "enabled Israel to spectacularly defeat it."
Regarding potential actions against Iran, Kirby declared that they "will be working to further isolate Iran internationally and increase economic and other forms of pressure."
"A stronger Israel, a weaker Iran, a more unified alliance of partners," he concluded.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel on Saturday night in Tehran's first direct attack on the Jewish state, signalling a major escalation of tensions in the region.
The attack came as a response to the alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, which killed at least seven members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including a senior Quds Force commander. Israel did not claim responsibility for that attack.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claimed Iran had launched '300 threats of various types' towards Israel, adding that '99 percent' of the rockets and drones had been intercepted. At the same time, defence minister Yoav Gallant reported that 'very little damage was caused' due to the attack.
IRGC Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri has warned that Tehran would launch a 'much bigger' offensive if Israel were to target Iranian soil in response to Saturday's attack, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was prepared to respond to a 'direct attack by Iran'.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said Washington had intercepted 'dozens of missiles and UAVs' before they had entered Israeli airspace. President Joe Biden reiterated his 'ironclad' support for Israel and said he will convene a G7 meeting on Sunday.
Russian permanent representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said Iran's attack did not 'happen in a vacuum' and accused some UN Security Council members of 'hypocrisy and double standards' during an emergency meeting in New York on Sunday.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both sides to exercise restraint and said he was 'deeply alarmed', warning of a 'very real danger' of a 'major military confrontation' on multiple fronts in the Middle East.