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US President Joe Biden said he does not expect Iran to carry out a retaliatory strike on Israel in response to the assassinations of Hamas and Hizbollah leaders if a deal is reached to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages.
Asked whether there was any link between the possibility of attacks from Iran and its proxies and an agreement to end the Israel-Hamas war, Biden replied: “That’s my expectation”.
Washington has been preparing for Tehran or its proxies to launch an attack on Israel this week in retaliation for its assassinations of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hizbollah’s military chief Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
The US has sent additional warships and fighter jets to the Middle East to help Israel fend off an attack.
The Biden administration has intensified diplomatic efforts to try to head off or limit any Iranian retaliation. The White House’s top Middle East official, Brett McGurk, has travelled to Egypt and Qatar, and senior adviser Amos Hochstein will be in Lebanon.
The US, Egypt and Qatar plan to mediate ceasefire talks on Thursday in an effort to pressure Israel and Hamas to agree a deal to release the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza and end the 10-month conflict in the enclave in which some 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health workers, and nearly the entire population has been displaced.
Hamas on Sunday accused Israel of attempting to draw out the talks without any intention of reaching a deal, and called on mediators to compel the Israeli government to implement the plan Biden outlined at the end of May.
“The United States has worked diplomatically and militarily to deter any further escalation by Iran and its proxy terrorist groups against Israel, and to support broader de-escalation in the region, including through a ceasefire and hostage deal for Gaza, and a negotiated settlement along the Blue Line,” a senior administration official said.
US officials on Tuesday said an attack from Iran on Israel did not appear to be imminent.
One person familiar with the matter said there appeared to be an internal debate in Iran about how to respond to the assassinations and that Tehran would be careful to shield its preparations.
This would be in contrast to April, when it telegraphed its first direct attack on Israel from Iranian soil in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its diplomatic compound in Syria, which killed several senior Iranian commanders.
Israel responded with a missile strike against Iran, but the tit-for-tat direct attacks caused limited damage and further escalation was avoided.
An Iranian regime insider told the Financial Times it has been purposefully vague about its plans for retaliation as part of “a psychological warfare campaign to keep Israel’s military, security and logistical capabilities on edge, denying residents of the occupied territories any sense of calm”.
Meanwhile, the US state department on Tuesday notified Congress of $20bn in weapons sales to Israel, including fighter jets, advanced air-to-air missiles and tank ammunition. The sales are longer-term contracts and the items are expected to take several years to arrive.