U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with his national security team to discuss “developments in the Middle East” amid growing fears of an Iranian attack on Israel, the White House has announced.
Regional tensions have escalated following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, one day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukur, a senior military commander from the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Both groups are backed by Iran, which has vowed retaliation. Biden is also expected to speak with Jordan’s King Abdullah II as the U.S. embarks on a new round of diplomacy aimed at de-escalating tensions.
“The overall goal is to reduce tensions in the region, contain and defend against these attacks, and prevent regional conflict,” said Jonathan Finer, Deputy National Security Advisor at the White House.
However, there is growing fear that Israel’s war against Palestinian militants in Gaza, which began after the Hamas attack on October 7, could escalate into a broader Middle Eastern conflict, The Guardian reports.
In a conversation between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, it is reported that al-Sudani told the American diplomat that preventing the spread of the conflict is linked to halting Israeli “aggression” in the Gaza Strip.
Both Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen have claimed to have initiated attacks on Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where nearly 40,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands more injured since October 7.
Meanwhile, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi made a rare visit to Tehran in a last-ditch effort to restrain Iran, but the attempt appeared doomed to fail. In a meeting with Safadi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared that the killing of Haniyeh was a “major mistake by the Zionist regime of Israel that will not go unanswered.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is already engaged in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its representatives and is prepared for any scenario, while Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned: “If they dare to attack us, they will pay a heavy price.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and France are among the latest countries to urge their citizens to leave Lebanon amid rising tensions. Several Western airlines have also suspended flights to Lebanon and other airports in the region, including Tel Aviv.
