Biden hopes Iran will stand down amid tense week in Middle East

President Joe Biden said Saturday that he hopes Iran will stand down after a chaotic week in the Middle East.

As he was leaving a local grocery store in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden fielded one question from a reporter across the street on his way to his limousine.

“I hope so,” Biden said when asked if he thinks Iran will stand down. “I don’t know.”

Earlier in the week, Israel conducted airstrikes in Beirut and Tehran, Iran, killing senior leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, respectively. Both groups are Iranian proxies, and on Wednesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered a direct strike on Israel. While that has not come to fruition, the threat of retaliation remains.

On Thursday, Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis,” according to a White House readout of the call.

“The President discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive U.S. military deployments,” according to the readout, which also noted Vice President Kamala Harris was on the call. “Together with this commitment to Israel’s defense, the President stressed the importance of ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region.”

In a separate call, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, on Friday.

“The Secretary reiterated ironclad U.S. support for Israel’s security and informed the Minister of additional measures, to include ongoing and future defensive force posture changes, that the Department will take to support the defense of Israel,” according to the readout of that call. “Secretary Austin highlighted that further escalation is not inevitable and that all countries in the region would benefit from a de-escalation in tensions, including through completing a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. However, he also stressed that the unprecedented scale of U.S. support for Israel since October 7 should leave Iran, Lebanese Hizballah, and other Iranian-backed terrorist groups with no doubt about U.S. resolve.”