Biden sending representatives to Middle East amid regional tensions

WASHINGTON

US President Joe Biden is sending two of his top Middle East officials to the region amid speculation that Iran could soon retaliate for last month's assassination of Hamas's former top political leader in Tehran.

"We've worked diplomatically and militarily to deter any further escalation by Iran and its proxy terrorist groups against Israel, and to support border de-escalation in the region," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan directed Biden's Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk and his special envoy, Amos Hochstein, to travel to the region. McGurk will visit Cairo before departing for Doha, Qatar, where cease-fire talks are slated to begin Thursday.

Hochstein will travel to Beirut.

"The best way to move forward is to do this in a diplomatic way. That's what you've seen the president do, certainly, the last couple of weeks. Now you see his team is going to be on the ground in the region to continue those diplomatic efforts," said Jean-Pierre.

"And we're going to continue to work on that hostage deal, that cease-fire deal. We believe it is the best way to move forward when we talk about de-escalating the tension in the Middle East," she added.

Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of carrying out Ismail Haniyeh’s July 31 assassination on Iranian soil. Tel Aviv has not confirmed, nor denied responsibility.

The Lebanese group, Hezbollah, is also expected to retaliate after Israel assassinated senior commander Fuad Shukr in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on July 30.

Shukr was killed hours before Haniyeh, setting the region on edge for a potentially wider war amid Israel's ongoing assault on the besieged Gaza Strip where nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed during a 10-month onslaught.

A total of 1,139 people were killed in the cross-border attack led by Hamas on Oct. 7.