President Biden claims a ceasefire deal in the Middle East is closer than ever.
Biden made the surprise announcement after signing a proclamation establishing a national monument in memorial of the Springfield 1908 Race Riot — a live event to which he arrived noticeably late.
“One of the reasons I was late for y’all is because I was dealing with the ceasefire effort in the Middle East,” Biden told the guests and reporters inside the Oval Office. “And we are closer than we’ve ever been.”
The official, speaking to Reuters, said Iran and its allies, including Hezbollah, would also launch a direct attack on the Jewish State if it believes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is dragging out negotiations with the Palestinian terrorist group.
Only Israel and Hamas reaching a ceasefire deal would hold Iran back from a direct strike against Israel in the wake of the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July, three senior Iranian officials told Reuters, but the news agency notes that the sources did not say how long Iran would let the talks progress before deciding to take any action.
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Hamas said Sunday it would not participate in new negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza this week unless mediators presented a plan based on previous talks. Talks are expected to resume on Thursday.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.
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