WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration believes it has received assurances from Israel that it will not launch attacks on Iranian nuclear or oil sites as it seeks to hit back Iran's rocket fire Earlier this month, two US officials said on Tuesday.

The government also believes that sending a US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to Israel and Around 100 soldiers are responsible for the operation has allayed some of Israel's concerns about possible Iranian retaliation and general security issues.

The Pentagon announced this on Sunday the THAAD mission to strengthen Israel's air defense after Iran's ballistic missile attacks on Israel in April and October and said they were authorized at the direction of President Joe Biden.

However, the U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic conversations, warned that Israel's assurances were unsound and that circumstances could change.

The officials also noted that Israel's track record of fulfilling its commitments in the past is mixed and often reflects Israeli domestic politics that have upended Washington's expectations.

The most recent example of this came last month when US officials learned from their Israeli counterparts that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would welcome it a US and French-led initiative for a temporary ceasefire In Lebanon, Israel launched a massive airstrike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah two days later.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement: “We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interests.”

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned their Israeli colleagues in a letter dated Sunday that it needs to increase the amount Humanitarian aid is allowed into the Gaza Strip Within the next 30 days, Israel could risk losing access to US arms funding.

The Middle East has braced for an expected response from Israel after Iran fired about 180 ballistic missiles on Oct. 1 that the United States helped repel. The mutual attacks and uncertainty over whether Israel might strike strategically important energy and nuclear sites in Iran have raised fears that a full-scale regional war could break out.

Israel's offensive against Iran-backed Hamas militants in Gaza has expanded into a Ground invasion in Lebanon It targets Hezbollah, another Iranian proxy that has since fired on Israel The conflict in Gaza began a year ago in solidarity with Hamas.

Biden has said he would not support an Israeli retaliatory strike on sites linked to those of Tehran Nuclear program and called on Israel to consider alternatives to attacking Iran's oil sector. Such a strike could impact the global oil market and drive up pump prices the US presidential election.

There is already deep division among Democrats over the war, with Vice President Kamala Harris failing over the weekend to secure the usual Democratic support from a political action group of Arab American leaders. Former President Donald Trump also received no support from the Arab American PAC.

Biden said earlier this month that he I didn't know whether Netanyahu was maintaining a peace agreement in the Middle East He wanted to influence the outcome of the US presidential election, but noted that he “didn’t expect it.” Biden also noted his Government support for Israelthat has long had weight in American politics.

Biden and Netanyahu spoke by phone last week for the first time in seven weeks, while Defense Secretary Austin has spoken regularly with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant.

The Pentagon said in a readout of a call Sunday that Austin reiterated U.S. support for Israel's security but urged it to provide protection UN peacekeepers in southern LebanonTransitioning from military operations to a diplomatic solution and “expressed concern about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and stressed the need to take steps soon to address the problem.”

The White House National Security Council declined to confirm that Netanyahu had given Biden any assurances about the targets.

“Our commitment to the defense of Israel is ironclad,” the White House National Security Council said in a statement. “We will not discuss private diplomatic discussions and would refer you to the Israeli government to discuss its own possible military operations.”

___

AP reporter Julia Frankel contributed from Jerusalem.