Biden to speak to Netanyahu about Iran retaliation on Wednesday, Axios reports

US President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and the two leaders were expected to discuss Israeli plans for a retaliatory strike on Iran.

The call was the leaders' first known chat since August and coincided with a sharp escalation of Israel's conflict with both Iran and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah with no sign of an imminent ceasefire to end the conflict with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.

The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's response to a missile attack last week that Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel's military escalation in Lebanon. The Iranian attack ultimately killed no one in Israel and Washington called it ineffective.