The White House believes Iran is still ready to “take action if it so chooses” and does not take for granted Iran’s decision not to attack Israel yet, National Security Council communications adviser John Kirby told reporters in a conference call Friday morning to preview key high-level ceasefire talks that begin in Cairo on Sunday.
The White House also does not take for granted the ability to protect Israel and US assets in the region, Kirby added.
Kirby declined to comment on Iran’s preparedness or what intelligence it is using, saying only: “We have to be prepared, and we are.”
“We have strengthened our military capabilities in the region and we are seeing this every day,” he said, pointing to additional forces in the region and an improved deterrence strategy.
Kirby said the administration was “fully focused” on ensuring both its own defense capabilities and the defense of Israel, as well as on implementing the agreement.
Iran has the right to react
Iran’s new Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told his French and British counterparts in phone calls on Friday that his country had the right to retaliate against Israel for the killing of a Hamas official in Tehran last month, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Iran blames Israel for the July 31 assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Araqchi was quoted as saying the assassination was “an unforgivable violation of Iran’s security and sovereignty,” adding: “It is Iran’s right to punish the aggressor.”
Israel has neither accepted nor denied responsibility for Haniyeh’s death in the Iranian capital.
Frenchman Stephane Sejourne and Briton David Lammy had called to congratulate Araqchi on his appointment as Iran’s new foreign minister this week.
