The United States does not want an “escalation” and an “extended war with Iran”, insisted Sunday the spokesperson for the National Security Council of the White House, the day after an unprecedented attack of the Islamic Republic over Israel. “The president (Joe Biden) has been clear: we do not want escalation. We do not want an extended war with Iran. I think the hours and days to come will tell us a lot,” he said. declared John Kirby on the American television channel NBC.
“Unwavering” support
Iran launched a massive drone and missile attack on Saturday, a first direct attack against Israeli territory which has raised fears of a regional explosion. It was “thwarted” according to the Israeli army while Iran welcomed what it considers to be a justified response to the strike which destroyed its consulate in Damascus. “We have made it very clear to all parties, including Iran, what we would do (…) and how seriously we would take any potential threat against our personnel” positioned in the Middle East , added John Kirby.
Joe Biden said Saturday evening that American forces had helped to shoot down “almost all” of the drones and missiles fired by Iran at Israel, adding that he had reaffirmed his “unwavering” support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Disagreements have been increasingly visible in recent weeks between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he blames for the conduct of the war for more than six months against Palestinian Hamas in Gaza, a territory hit by a humanitarian tragedy and threatened with famine in large scale.
Diplomacy is not “dead” yet
“We will continue to work with him, to advise him,” assured John Kirby, reaffirming that the United States would “continue to help (the Israelis) defend themselves.” “We will do everything necessary to ensure that our troops, our installations and our ships in the region are also protected,” he insisted again on another channel, CBS. Asked about the situation in Gaza, John Kirby estimated that diplomacy was not yet “dead”, to silence the guns and allow the release of hostages held in the Palestinian territory, bombed and besieged by Israel.
Israel and Hamas accuse each other of wanting to sabotage the talks. Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, said on Sunday that Hamas had rejected the latest truce plan put on the table last week in Cairo by American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators. “It’s a good deal,” said John Kirby. “It would make it possible to evacuate dozens of the most fragile hostages” and “to obtain a six-week ceasefire” facilitating the entry of “more humanitarian aid”. “The leaders of Hamas must accept this agreement,” insisted the White House spokesperson. Without expressing an explicit refusal, Hamas demanded a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the entire Gaza Strip.