White House: If Iran Wants a Ceasefire in Gaza, It Should Pressure Hamas

The White House's strategic communications coordinator dismissed reports from some Iranian media that the Islamic Republic had conditioned a message to the United States on refraining from retaliatory attacks following the assault on its consulate in Damascus on establishing a ceasefire. John Kirby stated on Monday, April 8, during a conference call, "I really have no opinion on the report that Iran claims. I will refrain from responding and honestly say, if Iran wants a ceasefire in Gaza, it should use all the means at its disposal to pressure Hamas to accept the agreement on the table." He continued, "If the Iranians really want this, we want to see them start to pressure Hamas. This is the best outcome for achieving a ceasefire." He said, "We want a ceasefire that frees women, the injured, the sick, and the elderly, and this is really our focus. If they are serious and sincere about a ceasefire, they should use their influence over Hamas to push for a positive response to the proposal on the table." This senior media official of the National Security Council of the White House commented on threats from Iranian officials regarding retaliation for the alleged Israeli attack on its consulate in Damascus: "Iran has made very public threats against Israel, and one of the things that the President of the United States said in his call with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, was that the Israeli government can count on U.S. support for any self-defense needs against direct Iranian threats to Israel." Kirby continued, "Not only are our forces, but our diplomatic personnel in Iraq and Syria are constantly under threat, and we take this matter seriously. Therefore, we are taking appropriate protective measures and are prepared for a proportional response based on changes, and this position has not changed and will not change. We take threats against our people seriously and know that those groups that carry out such attacks are supported, equipped, and financed by the IRGC." Hours earlier, the Arabic-language media outlet 'Jadeh Iran' reported, citing an Arab diplomatic source, that the Iranian government told the U.S. that it would refrain from responding to the deadly Israeli attack on its consulate in Damascus if a ceasefire in Gaza were established. This media outlet reported on Sunday that the unnamed source stated on Friday, "If the U.S. succeeds in containing the situation, it would be a significant success for the Biden administration, and we can work based on that." The Persian section of Voice of America has inquired about the views of American officials on this matter and will publish the response as soon as it is received. The publication of this news in 'Jadeh Iran' comes as the Iranian ILNA news agency reported that the Kuwaiti newspaper 'Al-Jarida' on Monday cited a source in the Iranian Foreign Ministry stating that the U.S. is still trying to dissuade the Islamic Republic from responding to last week's Israeli attack. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Iranian Foreign Minister, traveled to Damascus on Monday after meeting with Omani officials in Muscat, the capital of Oman. Amir-Abdollahian's trip to Syria comes a week after the deadly attack attributed to Israel against the Iranian government's consulate in Damascus, which resulted in the deaths of seven senior members of the Quds Force, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the head of this force in Lebanon and Syria. Senior Iranian officials, including Ali Khamenei, the leader, and senior military commanders, immediately pointed the finger at Israel and have warned several times that they will not leave it unanswered. In contrast, Israel has remained silent about the attacks attributed to it against the positions of the Islamic Republic and its proxy groups in Syria, following its usual practice over the past years. However, senior military and political officials in Israel have stated that they are fully prepared to confront the threats from the Iranian government since the attack on the consulate in Damascus and have taken necessary defensive and offensive measures. Amid speculation about a possible agreement between Israel and Hamas regarding a ceasefire and the release of hostages, a Hamas official told Reuters that "no progress" has been made in the Cairo negotiations. Israel and Hamas sent their negotiating teams to Cairo on Sunday. In these negotiations, the United States, led by William Burns, the head of the CIA, Qatar, and Egypt are also present. The Hamas official, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed in an interview with Reuters that Israel has made no changes to its previous position, and for this reason, the Cairo negotiations have not led to any new developments. Meanwhile, Israel Katz, the Israeli Foreign Minister, stated on Sunday that after negotiations that led to a temporary ceasefire last December, the positions of Israel and Hamas for establishing a ceasefire have never been this close to each other. Simultaneously, two Egyptian security sources have announced that both Israel and Hamas have agreed to make concessions that would pave the way for a ceasefire. According to them, during a three-stage ceasefire, Israeli hostages will be released, and displaced persons from northern Gaza will return to their homes. These two sources added that based on the proposal from the mediating parties, the return of the displaced to northern Gaza will take place in the presence of a force made up of several Arab countries and under the supervision of Israeli forces, after which Israeli forces will return to their own territory. Background: Following the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the hostage-taking of more than 250 others, Israel launched an assault on Gaza aimed at destroying this Islamic group supported by the Islamic Republic and freeing the hostages. This assault has caused the majority of the 2.3 million population of Gaza to become displaced, who urgently need food and other necessities of life. Despite the devastating consequences of Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel, officials of this Islamic group have repeatedly emphasized since then that they will carry out a similar attack again if they are able. Hamas, without mentioning the number of its members killed as a result of the Israeli assault on Gaza, claims that more than 33,000 Palestinians living in Gaza have been killed and about 76,000 others injured. The Persian section of Voice of America cannot independently verify or confirm the statistics provided.