White House national security spokesman John Kirby told Scripps News on Thursday that U.S. officials believe Iran is still plotting a retaliatory attack against Israel, but there is still a lot of uncertainty over how and when such an attack would occur.
The retaliation could come as tensions between Iran and Israel climb following the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. On Tuesday Iran rejected calls from European nations to refrain from retaliation. It blames Israel for Haniyeh's killing.
"We're not counting on anything when it comes to Iran and the possibility of some sort of an attack," Kirby said. "We believe that they continue to want to make good on their threat, and we believe that an attack from Iran could come really at any time, certainly in coming days, if possible. But the truth is we don't know whether they will. We don't know when they will, and we don't really have a good sense of, if they attack, what it would be like, how big, what the scope would be. So we're watching it real closely, which is why we're also involved in a lot of intense diplomacy to try to de-escalate this."
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The latest round of tensions has only added to the United States' call for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. A proposal is on the table, and the U.S. continues to provide defense aid for Israel. But Kirby acknowledges that an attack by Iran on Israel would "change the dynamic" in the region.
"There's no reason for the situation to become more violent than it already has, and we've put additional military resources in the region to defend ourselves and to help defend Israel if it comes to that. Hopefully, it won't come to that," Kirby said.
Kirby said that President Joe Biden's exit from the White House in January is not a timeline he has in mind for bringing about an agreement between Hamas and Israel. He added that President Biden would like to see a deal done "today."
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"We're going into it hopeful," Kirby said about negotiations. "We're going into it with a sense of energy and a sense of urgency, because every single day that those hostages are still being held by Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza is a day that their lives are further at risk and their families are only more fearful and more anxious. President Biden would like to get something done on this today."