Biden: Reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza may push Iran to refrain from attacking Israel
US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza could prompt Iran to refrain from launching an attack on Israel in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which has fueled regional tensions.
Biden’s comments came after Iran on Tuesday rejected Western calls to back down from its threat to respond to Israel after Haniyeh’s killing, amid fears that the war in the Gaza Strip could expand to the region.
Iran and its allies blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s assassination while he was visiting the Iranian capital to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
But Iran has vowed to avenge his assassination, which came hours after an Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukr.
Asked Tuesday whether a truce between Israel and Hamas could prevent an Iranian attack, Biden told reporters, “That’s what I expect”.
He told reporters in New Orleans that although the negotiations have become difficult, he won’t give up”.
Western diplomatic pressure has been mounting since then in an attempt to spare the Middle East further escalation.
Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo called on Tuesday on all parties to stop the escalation, adding, “Ten months into the war, the risk of regional escalation is more evident and terrifying than ever”.
She pointed out that in the Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel, the situation remains catastrophic for civilians… There is no safe place in Gaza, but the evacuation of civilians continues to areas that are becoming increasingly narrow”.
The White House warned that Iran and its proxies could launch major attacks on Israel this week, noting that Israel has similar estimates.
In recent days, the United States has sent an aircraft carrier group and a missile-armed submarine to the region in support of Israel.
The Biden administration on Tuesday approved new arms deals for Israel worth more than $20 billion, ignoring pressure from human rights groups calling for an end to arms supplies to the Jewish state amid the rising civilian death toll in Gaza.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kana’ani criticized the Western calls, saying in a statement, “The Islamic Republic is determined to defend its sovereignty… and doesn’t ask permission from anyone to exercise its legitimate rights”.
He denounced a declaration that does not include “any objection to the international crimes committed by the Zionist regime… and brazenly asks Iran not to respond in a deterrent manner to those who violated its sovereignty”.
“We’re working simultaneously to remove threats and prepare for all possibilities so that we can launch an attack in the place we decide,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said Tuesday during a visit to a military base in northern Israel on the border with Lebanon.
The United States and its European allies also called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, as the mediating countries, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, anticipated a difficult round of talks on Thursday in the hope of reaching a truce.
It also called on Western countries to deliver aid without restrictions to the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip after ten months of war.
