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White House warns Iran could still strike Israel during Gaza ceasefire talks: 'We are taking nothing for granted'
The White House said Friday it was still prepared for Iran to strike back against Israel, even as the Middle East held its breath for a resolution to the conflict in Gaza.
John Kirby, national security spokesman, described ceasefire talks in Cairo as 'constructive' even though the Palestinian terror group Hamas had not sent representatives.
At the same time, Iran's promised attack on Israel, in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil, has yet to materialize.
But Kirby told reporters on a briefing call: 'It's still a very perilous situation. I can't predict what Iran's going to do or not going to do.
'We believe they're still prepared to do something if, in fact, they choose to do something, and that's about as far as I'll go.'
Hezbollah fighters gather prior to the funeral procession for late senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, killed in an Israeli strike, in Beirut, Lebanon, earlier this month
A day earlier, Iran signaled that strikes were not imminent.
Kirby said officials were 'taking nothing for granted' and were also watching the activity of Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces on the border with Israel.
'I won't get into a specific intelligence assessment, but we certainly have to take seriously the rhetoric coming out of Hezbollah.
'We know that there's an exchange of fire almost every single day up there that you just can't blow off.'
The region was plunged into turmoil on Oct. 7 last year when Hamas gunmen killed more than 1200 people in Israel.
The government of Benjamin Netanyahu promised to destroy the group and launched strikes on Gaza, which have killed more than 40,000 people.
Negotiations to end the conflict and free Israeli hostages still held by Hamas have proceeded in fits and starts.
And the region was put on a knife edge when the Hamas leader was killed at his guesthouse in Tehran, a day after a top Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, was killed in Lebanon by an Israeli strike.
National security communications adviser John Kirby held a briefing call with reporters Friday
Rockets fired from Lebanon are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defense system
A destroyed car and apartment building are seen after an Israeli airstrike on August 20, that killed one and injured fifteen others on August 21, 2024 in Nabi Chit, Lebanon
The Pentagon has moved an extra aircraft carrier strike group into the region to make Iran think twice about launching a response.
Kirby called on Hamas to join the ceasefire talks. On Thursday they included negotiators from Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar but not Hamas.
'We're in Cairo. They're in Cairo. We need Hamas to participate, and we need to get down to the brass tacks of locking in these details. And that's what we're focused on here in the next, coming days here over the course of the weekend,' Kirby said.
He said early signs were that the discussions 'have been constructive,' and denied that the talks had collapsed.
'Things are moving forward,' he said.
Things looked bleak earlier this week when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken left the region without securing a deal.