US President Joe Biden held crisis talks with his national security team on Monday as fears grew that an Iranian counterattack on Israel could spark an all-out war in the Middle East.
Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken engaged in frantic diplomacy to try to ease tensions sparked by a suspected Israeli attack that killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran...
Earlier, Biden called King Abdullah II of Jordan while Blinken called the prime minister of Qatar and foreign minister of Egypt, the two key players in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas....
Biden and the Jordanian king meanwhile "discussed their efforts to de-escalate regional tensions, including through an immediate ceasefire and hostage release deal," the White House said in a readout of the call.
Hopes of a ceasefire between key US ally Israel and Hamas in Gaza have suffered a major blow with the assassination of Haniyeh and the killing of Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr in Beirut hours earlier.
- 'Maximum restraint' -
The United States has deployed extra fighter jets and warplanes to the region to support Israel, as reports suggested Iran could respond militarily as soon as Monday.
...Blinken also emphasized the need to calm regional tensions in a call with Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani of Iraq, where some Iran-aligned groups targeted US troops earlier in the Gaza war, the State Department said...
But the turmoil has deepened as... Netanyahu and Biden are increasingly at odds, despite a meeting at the White House less than two weeks ago.
Biden has backed Israel since Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel.
But Biden said on Thursday that he had a "very direct" call with Netanyahu urging him to reach a ceasefire deal, adding that the assassination of Haniyeh had "not helped" tensions.
The conversation became heated, with Netanyahu pushing back against suggestions that he was deliberately trying to sabotage efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal, The New York Times and Axios said.
🔗SOURCE ➡️ AFP
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