President Joe Biden said Monday he does not want the conflict in the Middle East to “expand” and reiterated his demand for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“The United States is committed to a ceasefire that will bring the hostages home and prevent the conflict from spreading,” Biden said in the Oval Office before his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shyaa Al-Sudani.
“The United States is committed” to Israel’s security, he added.
“The United States is committed to a ceasefire that will bring the hostages home and prevent the conflict from spreading,” President Joe Biden said of the Middle East.
Biden focused on stopping the escalation of war in the Middle East after Iran attacked Israel on Saturday.
He is also pushing for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip so that hostages can be released and humanitarian aid can enter the region.
The Iranian attack on Israel this weekend complicated matters. Biden’s meeting with the Iraqi prime minister was planned well before Tehran fired more than 300 missiles at Tel Aviv.
The United States has had a military presence in Iraq for twenty years. On Saturday evening, a U.S. Patriot battery in Erbil, Iraq, shot down at least one Iranian ballistic missile, according to U.S. officials.
The United States has helped shoot down dozens of missiles and drones in defense of Israel.
However, Iranian proxies have launched attacks on U.S. interests throughout the Middle East from Iraq. These ongoing strikes have made discussions between the United States and Iraq on regional stability and future U.S. troop deployments even more crucial.
“Our partnership is crucial to our nations, the Middle East and the world,” Biden told al-Sudani, as the Iraqi leader stressed that the discussion came at a “sensitive time.”
Meanwhile, the White House said Monday that Iran had “completely failed” in its attack on Israel as it tried to persuade Israel’s war cabinet not to retaliate after the 350 missile bombardment, fearing that the conflict escalates into all-out war in the Middle East. .
The White House emphasized that President Biden was pushing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to victory.
“The president, in his conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, praised the incredible success they achieved in shooting down the vast majority of missiles and drones fired at them. Very few impacts, no casualties,” he said. said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on NBC’s Today Show.
“It was an incredible achievement. And he urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to consider the impact of this great success not only on Israel’s military superiority, but also on the fact that Iran has completely failed in what it tried to do.
Smoke rises and rises above settlements after Israeli attack east of Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip
US President Joe Biden meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in the Oval Office
Biden faces growing pressure to contain the crisis, with defense experts saying the president has let the conflict in Gaza spread and expanding battle lines risks drawing in allies including the United States .
The Israeli government said it was discussing additional measures.
Kirby said Monday morning that it was unclear what Israel would ultimately do.
“We have no indication that they have made a decision,” he said on ABC’s Good Morning America, “or what they might do.” Obviously, it’s up to them to decide and talk about it.
And Kirby told the Today Show: “The president made it clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that there was a lot to be proud of the other night in terms of military success. The president has made it clear repeatedly that we are not seeking to start a war with Iran. We do not want to see a wider war in the region.
Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday in response to a drone strike in Syria that killed 12 Iranians, including two top generals.
The Israeli Defense Forces – along with their coalition partners including the United States, the United Kingdom, Jordan and France – shot down 99% of these aerial missiles.
Biden spoke with Netanyahu in a late-night phone call Saturday and made clear that U.S. forces would no longer participate.
The president urged Netanyahu not to respond to the attacks with retaliation against Iran.
‘You have won. Win,” Biden reportedly told Netanyahu.
A woman stands amid rubble in front of a collapsed building in the eastern part of the Maghazi Palestinian refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
The Israeli prime minister’s war cabinet favors a response – but is divided on the timing and scale of such a response, according to reports.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was coordinating a diplomatic response to the Iranian attack aimed at preventing further escalation.
“Strength and wisdom must be two sides of the same coin,” Blinken said in what appears to be a message to Israel.
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