JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will not support an Israeli strike on sites related to Tehran’s nuclear program in response to Iran's missile attack on Israel.
“The answer is no,” Biden told reporters when asked if he would support such retaliation after Iran fired about 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday.
Biden’s comments came after he and fellow Group of Seven leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom spoke by telephone about coordinating new sanctions against Iran.
The U.S. and allies are scrambling to keep the Mideast conflict — sparked by Iran-backed Hamas militants' in Gaza's Oct. 7 attack on Israel — from spreading further. They are urging Israel to show restraint as it weighs retaliation against Iran for Tuesday's attack.
Israel is now carrying out what it has described as limited ground operations across its northern border with Lebanon to dig out Hezbollah, another Iran-backed group, after carrying out a series of massive air strikes that killed the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and decimated its leadership.
Last month, thousands of explosives hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah detonated, killing dozens of people and maiming thousands, including many civilians. Israel is widely believed to be behind the attack
Biden stated his opposition to Israel hitting Iranian nuclear facilities as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed a range of options in how to respond to Tuesday’s attack. It was the second such attack by Iran on Israel in less than six months.
Israel's choices range from a largely symbolic strike — similar to how Israel responded after Iran launched a barrage of missiles and attack drones in April — to hitting oil facilities and other infrastructure.
Targeting Iran’s controversial nuclear program is seen as perhaps the most provocative action that Israel could take. It's one that the Democratic president believes could further enflame a Mideast conflict that he already worries could develop into a broader regional conflict.
The White House said in a statement that G7 leaders “unequivocally condemned Iran’s attack against Israel” and that Biden reaffirmed America's “full solidarity and support to Israel and its people.”
Biden added that he supports Israel's right to defend itself and “there are things that have to be done” in response to the Iranian barrage. He said he expected sanctions from the G7 nations to be announced soon.
“We will be discussing with the Israelis what they are going to do,” Biden told reporters before heading to the Carolinas to see the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. “All seven of us agree that they have a right to respond.”
The office of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said in a statement that the leaders expressed “strong concern for the escalation of these last hours” and emphasized that “a conflict on a regional scale is in no one’s interest.” Italy holds the rotating presidency of the G7 group of industrialized democracies.
Biden said that he planned to speak with Netanyahu "relatively soon.”
Biden's administration has signaled that it is urging Israel to display restraint in how it responds to Iran’s missile attack, which Biden said was “ineffective and defeated.”
The U.S. military helped Israel defend against the attack that Iran carried out in retaliation for the killing of Tehran-backed leaders of Lebanese Hezbollah.
Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said there “must be a return message” to Iran. He said the U.S. and Israel officials continue to discuss their response.
“At the same time, I think we recognize as important as the response of some kind should be, there is a recognition that the region is really balancing on a knife’s edge,” Campbell said at a forum hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Wednesday with his counterparts Britain, France, Germany, and Italy to discuss the situation in the Middle East.
Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Rome and White House Correspondent Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, as he heads to North and South Carolina to survey damage from Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
PARIS (AP) — Tennis players at the French Open say they haven’t experienced conditions this hot at Roland Garros since the Paris Olympics.
And the 2024 Olympics were held in July and August.
Temperatures for the opening two days of the clay-court Grand Slam have soared to 33 degrees C (91 F) — far beyond normal for late May in the French capital. And it’s forecast to stay that way for the entire first week.
Besides making it uncomfortable for fans and players alike, the sultry conditions have also created faster conditions on court — changing the pace of the game.
“It is much different. Maybe it was that hot in the Olympics but the balls were different, so I wouldn’t treat it as the same tournament,” four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek said after routing Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2 in the first round on Monday.
Players have been putting bags of ice around their necks on changeovers to stay cool, while fans are refreshing themselves under sprinklers.
When workers water the clay courts between sets, they have taken to directing their hoses at spectators begging to be doused, too.
“I don’t remember the last time it was so hot at Roland Garros,” Russian-born Australian player Daria Kasatkina said after beating Zeynep Sonmez 6-4, 6-4. “Maybe one day. But we’re going to have it for the whole week.”
Kasatkina said the energy-sapping temperatures made for more up-and-down matches.
“You can suddenly just get out of the bench and feel that your focus dropped,” she said. “So this is a battle which you have to also win. … Whoever adapts better to today’s conditions gets it.”
Canadian player Gabriel Diallo said the heat was the main reason why he retired midway through his match against James Duckworth on Sunday.
Both Andrey Rublev and opponent Ignacio Buse called for the trainer on separate occasions during the second set of their match on Monday.
Buse took a medical timeout and had salts and minerals added to his water bottle as a stethoscope was placed on his chest. Rublev received treatment a few games later.
The French Open is usually cool compared to the heat at the Australian Open and U.S. Open.
But like in Australia and New York, the French Open has adopted an extreme weather policy.
If the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) — which takes into account temperature, humidity, sun, wind and other factors — reaches 30.1 degrees C (86 F) or higher, 10-minute cooling breaks can be installed between the second and third sets for women’s matches and between the third and fourth sets for men’s matches.
If the WBGT hits 32.2 C (90 F), play is suspended. It would require an air temperature of about 38 C (100 F) for play to be suspended.
Some players were embracing the hotter air.
“I’ve always preferred hot and lively conditions to chilly on a clay court, because I feel like I can bring a little bit more of my all-court tennis on this type of surface,” Australian player Alex de Minaur said after beating Toby Samuel 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
“It’s easier to be a little bit more aggressive. The ball is jumping. I don’t necessarily have to use as much spin or heaviness, and I can let the conditions do the job for me. And it’s quite physical. I don’t mind the heat,” De Minaur added.
Same goes for American player Alex Michelsen, who eliminated Alexander Shevchenko in straight sets.
“It’s definitely good for us Americans,” Michelsen said. “Generally we’re big serve, big forehand, big ground game and like to play offense. When it’s super hot, the ball is moving through the air very fast. … I was so happy when I saw the forecast.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
A stadium worker sprays the court with water before the first round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Visitors cool themselves with water from sprinklers during a hot day at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
A woman cools herself with a portable fan during the first round men's singles tennis match between Alex De Minaur of Australia and Toby Samuel of Britain at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Spectators cool themselves with hand fans during the first round women's singles tennis match between Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and Anna Bondar of Hungary at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Poland's Iga Swiatek gestures for a ballboy as he shields her from the sun during a break at the first round women's singles tennis match against Emerson Jones of Australia at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Visitors cool themselves with water from sprinklers during a hot day at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Alex De Minaur of Australia attends a break during the first round men's singles tennis match against Toby Samuel of Britain at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
