Politics Biden: Gaza agreement could deter Iran from attack
According to US President Joe Biden, Iran could refrain from its threatened retaliatory strike against Israel in the event of a breakthrough in the negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
14.08.2024, 03:58
SDA
In response to a question from reporters, Biden replied: "That's my expectation, but we'll see."
This Thursday, at the urging of the USA, Qatar and Egypt, which are mediating in the war between Israel and Hamas, a potentially decisive round of talks on an agreement is planned, probably in Qatar's capital Doha. Unlike Israel, Hamas has so far refused to take part. They will "not negotiate under fire", a source told dpa.
However, the indirect negotiations would continue even if Hamas did not participate, the Wall Street Journal quoted Arab mediators as saying. In this case, the Islamist organization would be informed of the negotiated conditions for an agreement, it said.
According to media reports, the White House is concerned that an attack on Israel by Iran and its ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, would sabotage the negotiations on a Gaza deal and scupper a possible agreement. "It will be difficult," said Biden. "We'll see what Iran does, and we'll see what happens if there is an attack. But I'm not going to give up."
Following the recent killing of a Hezbollah military commander in Lebanon and the political leader of Hamas in the Iranian capital Tehran, it remains unclear if and when Iran and Hezbollah will carry out the threatened harsh retaliatory strikes against Israel. "Iran and Hezbollah don't know what to do. There are many plans, but no decisions yet," a US official told the news portal "Axios".
The USA, Qatar and Egypt had recently urged Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement with strong words. Both sides were asked to resume talks on Thursday "in order to close all remaining gaps and begin implementing the agreement without further delay", according to a joint statement by the mediators. They were ready to present a final bridging proposal, if necessary, to resolve the remaining implementation issues "in a way that meets the expectations of all parties".
