After confusing Iran with Ukraine, President Biden says he expects Iran will nix planned attack on Israel if a ceasefire deal is reached in the new round of talks starting Thursday.
By World Israel News Staff
President Joe Biden expressed optimism that a ceasefire deal reached between Israel and the Hamas terror organization in the near future could avert an impending Iranian attack on Israel.
The president spoke with reporters briefly after Air Force One arrived at Louis Armstrong International Airport in Kenner, Louisiana Tuesday afternoon, responding to questions regarding Iranian threats to strike Israel, and reports of Biden ramping up pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
With indirect talks between Israel and Hamas set to resume in Doha and Cairo on Thursday, via Egyptian and Qatari interlocutors, several senior Iranian officials told Reuters Tuesday that their government would be willing to cancel its planned attack on Israel if a ceasefire deal is reached in the near future ending the Gaza war.
Iran has vowed to retaliate for the July 31st assassination of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, widely suspected of being carried out by Israel’s Mossad.
When asked whether he believed a ceasefire could avert an Iranian attack on Israel, Biden initially appeared to confuse Iran and Ukraine, before stating that he believes the looming attack would be canceled in the event of a deal.
“That’s my expectation, but we’ll see,” said Biden.
“It’s getting hard. We’ll see what Ukrai- — we’ll see what Iran does, and we’ll see what happens if there’s any attack. But I’m not giving up.”
The president was also queried regarding reports he has been increasingly pressuring Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas.
“Speaking to Benjamin Netanyahu, there have been reports that you told him to stop bullshitting,” one reporter asked Biden.
“If I told you what pressure I was putting on, it wouldn’t be very much pressure, would it?” Biden responded.
Earlier this month, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that during a telephone conversation with Netanyahu, Biden rejected the Israeli premier’s claims regarding hostage deal talks, telling Netanyahu to “stop bullshitting me.”