NYC mayor deflects questions about bribery charges as a potential witness speaks outside City Hall

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivered his most thorough public defense to date since his indictment on federal bribery charges, insisting the case was a “test” that would not distract him from governing as he deflected specific questions about the investigation for more than an hour Tuesday.

Yet even as the mayor began to address reporters alone beneath the City Hall rotunda, a potential witness in one of the sprawling investigations was wrapping up his his own news briefing steps away, complaining he had been the victim of a corrupt “shakedown.”

The whiplash-inducing morning at City Hall reflected the deepening tumult that has gripped the Democrat's administration in recent weeks, raising questions about whether Adams can continue managing the nation’s largest city while shuttling between court appearances and contending with an exodus of top deputies.

As he stepped to the podium, a smiling Adams began his comments with a favorite quip: “This is going in my book.”

But if he was seeking to convey his signature swagger, the mayor also appeared evasive and isolated. Adams typically enters his Tuesday briefings accompanied by triumphant walk-on music and a phalanx of deputies, including his chief legal counsel. But his top lawyer recently resigned. On Monday night, one of his closest advisors also stepped down. Another was served with a federal subpoena on Friday.

This time he was alone. While Adams spoke extensively to reporters, he declined to answer questions about the laws he is accused of breaking, whether his security clearance has been downgraded as a result of the criminal case and if he really believes — as he has repeatedly suggested — that the investigation is politically motivated.

Instead, the mayor framed himself as a battle-tested executive, confident in his ability to overcome the “obstacles.”

“As the case unfolds, some people are going to say, ‘You know what, we have jumped the gun on Eric Adams,' ” he said. “This is a test for folks who automatically just come with their hearts in one way. The information is going to continue to show that I do not break laws.”

Federal prosecutors have accused Adams of soliciting and accepting illegal campaign contributions and more than $100,000 in luxury travel perks from Turkish officials and other foreign nationals seeking to buy his influence.

In exchange, they say he performed official favors that benefited Turkey, including pushing through the opening of a consulate building in Manhattan over the objections of fire safety officials who said it was unsafe to occupy.

The charges against Adams come as federal investigators conduct multiple probes linked to several top officials in his administration, including the brother of his former police commissioner; a consulting firm run by another brother of his schools chancellor and deputy mayor for public safety; and one of his top advisors and closest confidantes, Tim Pearson.

Pearson resigned Monday night, weeks after the police commissioner, Edward Caban, and schools chancellor, David Banks, announced they were stepping down. All have denied wrongdoing.

Outside City Hall, the owner of a Brooklyn juice bar and nightspot, Shamel Kelly, held his own news conference Tuesday saying he had been the victim of a corrupt scheme involving a mayoral aide and the police department.

Seeking help with a raft of noise complaints, Kelly said he was connected by a City Hall staffer to the owner of a nightlife security business, who told him he could make the complaints go away for a price. Kelly said he later learned the security company was run by James Caban, the twin brother of the former police commissioner.

“I felt like I was being extorted,” Kelly told reporters. He provided a video showing dozens of officers just outside the door of his Coney Island business for one of the alleged noise complaints, which Kelly’s attorneys said had been provided to federal prosecutors.

A lawyer for James Caban, Sean Hecker, has said his client “unequivocally denies any wrongdoing.”

Adams said he was unaware of the allegations, which were first reported weeks ago, but that “no one should treat a business owner unfairly in any way.”

Surrounded by signs detailing his policy accomplishments, Adams then ticked through his own experience of adversity, invoking his troubled childhood in working-class Queens and his struggles with dyslexia and diabetes that nearly left him blind.

“I’ve been dealing with difficult moments throughout my entire life, and in spite of all those difficult moments, I’m called the mayor of the city of New York,” he said.

Later in the evening, Adams joined a group of Black clergy leaders for a prayer circle outside City Hall, accompanied by his top advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, whose home was also searched by investigators Friday.

“You don't give up during hard times, you step up during hard times,” Adams said, as his allies chanted “four more years” and showered the mayor with “hallelujahs.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the ability to remove the mayor from office, said this week that she is giving Adams a chance to show he can continue to run the city as his criminal case plays out.

As Adams sought to make his political case, his attorneys were busy ramping up their legal defense.

In a court filing Tuesday, lawyers for Adams asked a judge to investigate leaks to the media from prosecutors and, if confirmed, to levy appropriate remedies, including dismissal of the indictment.

That filling came one day after his attorney requested a judge toss the bribery charge — one of five counts he faces — arguing the details of the alleged conduct don't meet the threshold of a quid pro quo.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan declined comment.

Adams is due back in court on Wednesday morning.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, left, is surrounded by faith leaders and other supporters during a rally and prayer vigil on the steps of City Hall in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks while surrounded by faith leaders and other supporters during a rally and prayer vigil on the steps of City Hall in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, center, is surrounded by faith leaders and other supporters during a rally and prayer vigil on the steps of City Hall in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Shamel Kelly poses after a news conference in New York's City Hall Park, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Shamel Kelly, left, with his attorneys Bernarda Villalona, center, and Harry Daniels, right, hold a news conference in New York's City Hall Park, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Shamel Kelly, left, is introduced by his attorney Bernarda Villalona, during a news conference in New York's City Hall Park, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Shamel Kelly, center, flanked by his attorneys Bernarda Villalona, left, and Harry Daniels, right, speaks during a news conference in New York's City Hall Park, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Shamel Kelly, center, flanked by his attorneys Bernarda Villalona, left, and Harry Daniels, right, speaks during a news conference in New York's City Hall Park, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is surrounded by faith leaders and other supporters during a rally and prayer vigil on the steps of City Hall in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, right, is surrounded by faith leaders and other supporters during a rally and prayer vigil on the steps of City Hall in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, right, thanks faith leaders and other supporters during a rally and prayer vigil on the steps of City Hall in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

This photo provided by the New York Mayoral Photography Office shows New York City Mayor Eric Adams during his in-person media availability at City Hall, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (Ed Reed/New York Mayoral Photography Office via AP)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams looks on while surrounded by faith leaders and other supporters during a rally and prayer vigil on the steps of City Hall in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Iran has fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, sending Israelis diving into shelters but prompting celebrations across Iran. There was no immediate report of casualties in the attack late Tuesday.

Israel said it intercepted many of the missiles, and officials in Washington said U.S. destroyers assisted in Israel's defense. Iran said most of its missiles hit their targets.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning Monday to Iran, which backs Hezbollah and Hamas. “There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach," Netanyahu said, just days after an airstrike south of Beirut killed the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, which is backed by Tehran.

Hezbollah’s acting leader, Naim Kassem, promised the group will fight on following the death of its long-time chief Hassan Nasrallah and several of the group’s top commanders who have been assassinated in recent days. Kassem said the group’s fighters are ready and the slain commanders have already been replaced.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since Oct. 8, the day after Hamas sent fighters into Israel and sparked the war in Gaza. It's been almost a year since some 250 people were abducted from Israel, and friends and family are worried about their loved ones as attention turns away from hostages and north toward Lebanon.

Here is the latest:

UNITED NATIONS — Israel’s U.N. ambassador says his government will decide when and how to respond to Iran’s barrage of close to 200 ballistic missiles that forced Israel’s 10 million population into bomb shelters. “But I can tell you one thing, it will be noticed," he said. "It will be painful.”

Danny Danon reacted to a statement from Iran’s U.N. Mission that any new Israeli action would be met with a “crushing response,” saying: “I would not advise Iran to challenge our determination, our capabilities. In the past, we have proved it. We will prove it again.”

“We have no desire for war or escalation, but we cannot sit idly by when our civilians are being attacked in such manner,” the Israeli ambassador said. “Iran used to send boxes but now, when they send almost 200 ballistic missiles, that’s something that I don’t think any other nation in the world will ignore.”

UNITED NATIONS — Iran’s U.N. ambassador is warning Israel that its response to any acts of aggression against Tehran “will be swift, decisive and stronger than before.”

Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said in letters to the U.N. Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres late Tuesday that its missile strikes against military and security targets in Israel were carried out in self-defense, under the U.N. Charter and in response to Israel’s “aggressive actions.”

He pointed to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, the detonation of pagers in Lebanon in September that killed at least 12 people and injured 2,800 others including Iran’s ambassador to the country, and the Sept. 27 assassinations of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian General Abbas Nilforoushan in Beirut.

Iravani said the Security Council’s inaction “has allowed Israel to flagrantly breach all red lines and violate the core principles of international law.”

He reiterated Iran’s calls for the council “to urgently and decisively intervene to halt Israel’s continued aggression and war crimes against Lebanon, Gaza and Syria and to prevent the situation from escalating into a full-scale regional war.”

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel has reopened its airspace after the Iranian missile attack.

The country’s airport authority briefly closed Israel’s airspace to incoming flights during Tuesday’s attack and diverted them to other airports outside the country.

But after the army said the threat had passed, the authority said flights were operating as normal again.

Flights to Israel have repeatedly been disrupted by the yearlong war, with many major carriers suspending service because of the ongoing fighting.

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on the escalating situation in the Middle East for Wednesday at 10 a.m., at the request of France and Israel.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a letter to the council late Tuesday that the Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel “demonstrates that the charm offensive conducted by Iran and its new president is a mirage and the decision-making in Iran lies with the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guards.”

He accused Iran of trying to destroy Israel “with a ring of fire from seven fronts” and urged the Security Council to condemn the country and designate its Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

LONDON — Several international airlines requested permission to make emergency landings in Azerbaijan following the closure of Iranian air space.

Iran, which launched a massive barrage of missiles on Israel on Tuesday, closed its airspace in case Israel retaliated, Iranian news agencies reported.

Iran is south of Azerbaijan and the two countries share a border.

A LOT Polish airlines flight from Warsaw to Mumbai and a Qatar Airways flight from Moscow to Doha both landed at the Heydar Aliyev airport in Baku, the airport’s press service said.

Both flights were Boeing 787s and landed within minutes of each other just before 10 p.m. local time, the airport said.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in discussions with his counterpart in Israel after Iran fired a barrage of almost 200 missiles at the nation.

Austin received a short update from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and “is consulting closely with them on next steps,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Tuesday.

Iran launched about twice as many ballistic missiles Tuesday as it did during an attack against Israel earlier this year, but it did not appear to launch drones, Ryder said.

A full assessment of Tuesday’s attack is underway, he said. The Israeli military said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles in the April attack.

Ryder said two U.S. Navy destroyers — the USS Cole and the USS Bulkeley — fired about a dozen interceptors to defend Israel in the latest attack.

He decried reports indicating Iran wants to de-escalate tensions in the region.

“You don’t launch that many missiles at a target without the intent on hitting something,” Ryder said.

WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has condemned the missile attack on Israel by Iran, calling Tehran “a destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East.”

The vice president said Tuesday that she supports President Joe Biden’s decision to shoot down the missiles targeting Israel.

“We are still assessing the impact but initial indications are that Israel, with our assistance, was able to defeat this attack,” she says.

She says her commitment to Israel is “unwavering,” and warns that Iran is more than a threat to Israel.

“Iran is also a threat to American personnel in the region, American interests and innocent civilians across the region who suffer at the hands of Iran-based and -backed terrorist proxies,” she says.

President Joe Biden says his administration is “fully supportive” of Israel after it thwarted an Iranian missile attack and that he’s in “active discussion” with aides about an appropriate response.

Biden also praised the U.S. and Israel militaries for defeating the Iranian missile barrage.

“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully supportive of Israel,” Biden said Tuesday at the start of a meeting with White House officials focused on the administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said soon after the attack that it amounted to a “significant escalation by Iran.”

Biden said it remains to be seen what consequences Iran will face.

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran will pay a price for its missile barrage on Israel.

“Iran made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it,” Netanyahu said as he gathered his Security Cabinet for a meeting late Tuesday.

Netanyahu said the missile attack was a failure and that Iran would soon learn a painful lesson just as enemies in Gaza, Lebanon and other places have learned.

“Whoever attacks us, we attack them,” he said.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it has received no reports of injuries from the Iranian missile attack.

The military’s spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the country’s air defenses intercepted many of the incoming missiles, though some landed in central and southern Israel.

“This strike will have consequences,” he said.

He urged the public to continue to listen to public-safety guidelines from the army.

STOCKHOLM — Police have cordoned off areas around the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm after reports of a shooting.

Local newspaper Expressen said Tuesday that a weapon and at least one empty bullet casing were found near the embassy and that police are looking for a suspect who fled the scene.

Stockholm police told the Swedish news agency TT that police were investigating reports of a loud bang but wouldn’t confirm that a shooting took place.

Security around the embassy has been stepped up this year following threats and incidents, including reports of a “dangerous object” found in the vicinity of the embassy that Swedish media described as a hand grenade.

TEHRAN — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said 90% of missiles it launched against Israel hit their targets successfully.

The statement broadcast on state TV late Tuesday said the attack targeted air and radar bases as well as security apparatus that planned the killing of senior Hamas and Hezbollah figures.

It said Iran has a right to defend itself under international regulations.

The TV station showed footage of missiles being launched in the darkness from unidentified locations in Iran.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian state television, long controlled by hard-liners, has aired images of people in Arak, Qom and Tehran celebrating Iran’s missile attack in Israel.

Some shouted, “God is great!” “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

However, Iran’s support of regional militias abroad has been a point of anger during protests as the country suffers under international sanctions.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned Iran’s attack on Israel during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Starmer was on the phone with Netanyahu when the barrage of missiles began Tuesday, further escalating the situation in the Middle East.

He reiterated the U.K.’s commitment to Israel’s security and the protection of civilians, but emphasized the importance of seeking cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza, the prime minister’s office said in a readout of the call.

Starmer also spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and they both called for de-escalation of fighting in the region.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Iran fired around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel.

“This is totally unacceptable, and the entire world should condemn it,” he said during a meeting Tuesday with the Indian foreign minister at the State Department.

Blinken says initial reports suggest Israel, along with allies including the U.S., “effectively defeated this attack,” underscoring Washington's “commitment to Israel’s defense.”

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House that U.S. destroyers fired missile interceptors at some of the inbound missiles.

Sullivan called the attack “a significant escalation by Iran,” and reiterated there would be “severe consequences” on Iran for the attack.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian medical officials say Israeli forces have killed at least three people trying to return to their homes in the northern half of Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces stationed at the east-west Netzarim route that divides the Palestinian enclave opened fire on the men Tuesday, according to the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the central town of Deir al-Bahah.

An Associated Press journalist saw ambulances taking people to the hospital, and counted the bodies.

The officials said the men were among a group of people trying to return to their homes.

The Israeli military has sealed off northern Gaza and is preventing displaced people from returning to their homes there.

BEIRUT — Iran-backed Iraqi militias say if the U.S. takes part in “any hostile action” against Iran then American interests in the region will be under threat.

The statement Tuesday from the group calling itself the Coordination Committee for the Iraqi Resistance also warned Israel against using Iraqi airspace to retaliate against Iran for a missile barrage fired at Israel, saying “all American bases and interests in Iraq and the region will be our target.”

Iran-backed militias in Iraq regularly target bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria with drones, saying they are retaliating for Washington’s support of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

JERUSALEM — Israel police say six people have been killed in a shooting in Tel Aviv.

Police say two suspects opened fire Tuesday evening on a boulevard in Jaffa, a mixed Arab-Jewish neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv. Twelve people also were wounded in the shooting.

Police said the two suspects were killed.

The attack came moments before a massive barrage of rockets from Iran sent people into bomb shelters across Israel, including in Tel Aviv.

UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned “the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation.”

Guterres' comments Tuesday came shortly after Iran said it fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel. The Israeli military said its army has crossed the border into Lebanon and is conducting “localized ground raids” on Hezbollah positions.

“This must stop,” the U.N. chief said in a statement Tuesday. “We absolutely need a cease-fire.”

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Hezbollah militant group says media published by the Israeli military showing its cross-border forays into Lebanon have nothing to do with the ongoing conflict.

The Israeli military says its army has been carrying out secretive ground operations to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanese villages close to the border for the past year and has released footage of what it said was Israeli soldiers uncovering tunnels and weapons in Lebanese villages.

Hezbollah said in a statement Tuesday that picture and videos that the Israeli military says show tunnels and houses entered by Israeli soldiers are “very old and have no relationship to any current military action on the Lebanese border.”

It says the images are part of a “psychological and propaganda war.”

The Israeli military has said its forces entered Lebanon overnight to begin a “limited” ground incursion. Hezbollah denies that any Israeli troops have crossed the border.

BEIRUT — Israel’s military says it killed a senior Hezbollah operative in an airstrike on an apartment building on the edge of Beirut.

The Israeli military says Mohammed Jaafar Qassir was killed in a strike Tuesday afternoon. It says Qassir was in charge of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400 that ships weapons from Iran to Lebanon and he supervised Hezbollah’s development of precision-guided missiles.

The Israeli military said Qassir also sent hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah in recent years.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli claim.

Qassir’s brother Ahmad carried out a suicide attack in southern Israeli port city of Tyre in 1982 that killed dozens of Israeli soldiers. His death is marked annually as “Martyr's Day.”

Iran says it has launched dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel.

The claim came in a statement read aloud on state television Tuesday as air raid sirens sounded and explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem.

The statement warned that “if Israel responds militarily to this operation, it will face a harsher response.”

Iran referenced Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, both killed in an Israeli airstrike last week in Beirut. The statement also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader in Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July.

It warned this attack represented only a “first wave,” without elaborating.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says Iran has fired missiles at Israel, and air raid sirens are sounding across the country.

Military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari released a video statement Tuesday saying “the air defense system is fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats wherever necessary, even at this moment.”

Soon after, a series of explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem. It was not immediately known if they were interceptions or incoming missiles landing. The explosions near Jerusalem were so loud that windows shook.

Residents were ordered to shelter in place and remain close to bomb shelters. The order was sent to mobile phones and announced on national television. TV stations reported sirens in parts of Jerusalem as well as central Israel.

Iranian media posted videos that appeared to show missile launches at several sites across the country, but the Iranian government did not immediately acknowledge what was happening.

The alerts were sounded after a day of rocket and missile attacks from Lebanon. Israeli authorities also warned that Iran might be preparing a missile attack.

Israel has warned there would be “repercussions” if Iran attacks.

The Israeli military is urging the public to stay close to sheltered areas and says it takes seriously the possibility of an attack by Iran.

Military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Tuesday that Israelis must obey public safety guidelines issued by the military’s Home Front Command.

“The Iranian strike could be widespread. Following Home Front Command guidelines can save lives,” Hagari said.

WASHINGTON — A U.S. official has said Iran may strike Israel within the next 12 hours, with an attack that could be as big as or bigger than strikes earlier this year.

However, the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details on a sensitive matter, cautioned that Iran has been postured to conduct such an attack since August – in order to be able to strike on short notice – and that the U.S. has not seen significant changes in Iran’s posture in the last day or so.

Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel in April, but few of its projectiles reached their targets. Many were shot down by a U.S.-led coalition, while others apparently failed at launch or crashed in flight.

— By Tara Copp

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations chief is appealing for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, warning that escalation to an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah militants must be avoided “at all costs.”

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, who delivered the message from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, stressed that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected.

Guterres spoke earlier Tuesday to Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati and told him the U.N. system is mobilized to assist those in need, Dujarric said. He also appealed to the international community to urgently support a $426 million humanitarian appeal to help the people of Lebanon.

WASHINGTON — The State Department has ordered all U.S. diplomats and their families based in Israel and the West Bank to shelter in place until further notice as the security situation becomes increasingly uncertain with Israel’s ground incursion in Lebanon and potential threats of an Iranian missile attack.

“As a result of the current security situation, the U.S. Embassy has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to shelter in place until further notice,” the embassy in Jerusalem said Tuesday in a notice to American citizens.

“This is provided for your information as you make your own security plans,” it said. “The security environment remains complex and can change quickly depending on the political situation and recent events.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the Biden administration is watching the situation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon “very closely” and “very carefully,” but is committed to Israel’s defense and security.

Speaking Tuesday before talks with the visiting foreign minister of Morocco, Blinken did not address the threat to Israel posed by a potential Iranian ballistic missile launch that was identified by the White House shortly before he spoke.

“The United States is committed to Israel’s defense,” he said. “We’re watching developments, as I said, very carefully at this moment.”

Police guard outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, after a suspected shooting near the embassy. (Anders Wiklund/TT News Agency via AP)

Police work outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, after a suspected shooting near the embassy. (Anders Wiklund/TT News Agency via AP)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Israeli forensic technicians work in a light rail car following a shooting attack in Jaffa, a mixed Arab-Jewish area of Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Itai Ron)

Members of Zaka Rescue and Recovery team load a dead person into an ambulance following a shooting attack in Jaffa, a mixed Arab-Jewish area of Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Itai Ron)

Missiles launched from Iran towards Israel streak across the night sky as seen from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Demonstrators cheer as they wave Iranian and Hezbollah flags in an anti-Israeli gathering celebrating Iran's missile strike against Israel, at Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Fireworks explode next a portrait of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a minaret of a mosque in an anti-Israeli gathering celebrating Iran's missile strike against Israel, at Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Demonstrators cheer as artificial snow sprayed in an anti-Israeli gathering celebrating Iran's missile strike against Israel, at Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Israelis take cover as projectiles launched from Iran are being intercepted in the skies over in Rosh HaAyin, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Israeli air defense system fires to intercept rockets fired from Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, over Hadera, Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People take cover on the side of a road as a siren sounds a warning of incoming missiles fired from Iran on a freeway in Shoresh, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in Israel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles over Hadera, Israel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People take cover on the side of the road as a siren sounds a warning of incoming missiles fired from Iran on a freeway in Shoresh, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in Israel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

An Israeli soldier raises his fist from a moving APC in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Rescuers arrive at the site of a building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Bir Hassan, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A damaged building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Bir Hassan, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Israeli soldiers raise their fists from a moving APC in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A man checks the damaged buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man documents the damaged buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man documents the damaged buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A damaged building is seen at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

An Israeli Apache helicopter fires a missile towards southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israeli army tanks manoeuvre in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Israeli army tanks manoeuvre in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Israeli army tanks manoeuvre in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Israeli shelling hits an area in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, early Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israeli shelling hit an area in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A mourner holds up a poster of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with a quotation of him: "We will definitely win" at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) St. in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An Israeli tank manoeuvres in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

A cat walks past a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Israeli soldiers sleep on tanks in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)