In a recent conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden warned that his country risks being left without Washington's help if there is another step towards escalation in the Middle East. This was reported by Axios, citing an American official.
According to the portal, the day before, August 1, Biden conducted a "tough" telephone conversation with Netanyahu. In it, he asked the Israeli prime minister to stop escalating tensions in the region and immediately begin negotiations for the release of the hostages in the Gaza Strip and for a ceasefire, two US officials told Axios.
According to Axios interlocutors, during his visit to the United States in late July, Netanyahu deliberately kept Biden and the American leadership in the dark about the planned assassinations of senior Hezbollah and Hamas officials in Beirut and Tehran. The two murders took place less than a week after Netanyahu's first visit to the White House in four years, the publication notes.
During the call, Biden told Netanyahu that the U.S. would help Israel repel an Iranian attack, but then Washington expected Tel Aviv to de-escalate and move on to negotiating a hostage deal, the sources said.
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Biden also warned Netanyahu that Israel should not rely on US aid if the conflict escalates again, one of the sources added.
The head of the Hamas politburo, Ismail Haniya, was killed along with his bodyguard in Tehran at the place where he was staying on July 31. Sources of "Al Hadat" and "Al Arabia" claim it was the result of a direct missile hit. NYT sources say Haniya died as a result of a remote-triggered bomb planted in the guest house.
Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for Haniya's murder, with Hamas not officially admitting involvement in his death.
A day before Haniya's death, Sky News Arabia and Al Hadath reported the death of a senior pro-Iranian Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, in an Israeli strike in Beirut. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strike and Shukr's death.
The NYT reported, citing Iranian officials, that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the strike on Israel in response to Haniya's murder. A source told CNN that the US has asked Tehran not to retaliate for what happened.