As fears of an Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel loom, the United States aims to “turn down the heat” in the Middle East, the country’s UN ambassador said.
On Tuesday, Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council in New York that the United States wanted to “deter and defend against any future attack and avoid regional conflict.”
There are fears that Iran could retaliate against Israel after the July assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran – something Israel has not claimed responsibility for.
US President Joe Biden has proposed that reaching a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could help deter Iran from launching an attack on Israel.
“That’s my expectation but we’ll see,” he said when prompted by a reporter on Tuesday.
“We’ll see what Iran does and we’ll see what happens if there’s any attack, but I’m not giving up,” he said, while leaving his plane during a visit to New Orleans, Louisiana.
A new round of ceasefire talks has been fixed for Thursday in Doha or Cairo.
But according to reports in the New York Times and Sky News, a Hamas official in Lebanon said Hamas would not participate in the talks.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday postponed plans to travel to the Middle East to participate in negotiations for a cease-fire agreement in Gaza.
International mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar have pressed for a deal that would see Israeli hostages released to their families in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
At the same time, Washington also approved new arms sales to Israel worth $20 billion (£15.5 billion).
The State Department said Israel will buy 50 F-15 fighter jets, as well as 33,000 tank rounds, up to 50,000 mortar rounds and new military cargo vehicles.
Delivery of the aircraft will begin in 2029.
At the Security Council meeting in New York, Thomas-Greenfield called for the finalization of a cease-fire agreement.
“A broader regional conflict is not inevitable,” she said.
“The United States’ overall goal remains to turn the temperature down in the region, deter and defend against any future attacks, and avoid regional conflict,” she added.
“That starts with finalising a deal for an immediate ceasefire with hostage release in Gaza. We need to get this over the finish line.”
But the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, accused the Security Council of not doing enough to stop the Israeli military operation in Gaza.
“Wake up. Stop finding excuses. Stop imagining that you can reason with the Israeli government so it stops killing civilians by the thousands, imposing famine, torturing prisoners, colonizing and annexing our land, all while you appeal to them, call on them, demand them to stop,” Mansour said.
Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan said the Israeli military had taken all possible measures to minimize collateral damage and accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
He also criticized the Security Council for not condemning Iran’s actions.
“As we speak here, millions of Israelis are preparing for a direct Iranian attack, as they did in April. Iran’s aggression threatens the entire war zone.”
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack in southern Israel on October 7, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
Source: BBC News
