US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he expects Iran to back down from its threats to attack Israel if a ceasefire deal with Hamas is reached this week.
“That’s my expectation,” Biden told reporters when asked if he believes Iran will not strike if a deal is signed.
Earlier, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk and Special Envoy Amos Hochstein are both traveling to the Middle East as part of the administration's efforts to finalize a ceasefire agreement. McGurk is traveling to Doha and Cairo, while Hochstein is traveling to Beirut.
“We believe that negotiators should come to the table. We believe getting to a ceasefire deal is the best way to de-escalate the tensions that we’re seeing,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Iran has threatened for the last two weeks to retaliate for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Israeli and US officials have stated that they believe an Iranian attack on Israel could happen in the coming days.
The US, Egypt, and Qatar are hosting a summit on Thursday in the hopes of securing a ceasefire, though Hamas has indicated that it will not send a delegation to the summit.