NBC News: Biden 'Concerned' Israel is Trying to Drag America Into a War With Iran

In the days leading up to Iran's retaliatory attack on Israel, U.S. intelligence showed that Iran's leaders felt the need to respond to Israel's strike in Damascus due to concern of domestic blowback if the strike went unanswered, according to the senior administration official.

Biden has privately expressed concern that Netanyahu is trying to drag the U.S. more deeply into a broader conflict, according to three people familiar with his comments.

While the White House believes the Israelis are not looking for a wider war or a direct war with Iran, particularly given the resources they have fighting the war in Gaza, U.S. officials can't be certain, the senior administration official said.

The official described Israel's approach to military operations as "frenetic."

"There's this urgency to act," the official said, "and that's what happened in Damascus." The official said it's the same frustration U.S. officials have with the way Israel is operating in Gaza.

The defense official echoed that sentiment, saying the Israelis have shown they are much better at operations than they are at planning. "They have surprised us with their really short-sided planning for the past few months so in that way Damascus isn't as surprising," the defense official said.

Now, the U.S. is contending with a potential war between rival nation states, the senior administration official said. That would be a dramatic and dangerous expansion of the long-simmering conflict between Iran and Israel that could further destabilize the Middle East.