President Biden claims a ceasefire deal in the Middle East is closer than ever.
Biden made the surprise announcement after signing a proclamation establishing a national monument in memorial of the Springfield 1908 Race Riot — a live event to which he arrived noticeably late.
“One of the reasons I was late for y’all is because I was dealing with the ceasefire effort in the Middle East,” Biden told the guests and reporters inside the Oval Office. “And we are closer than we’ve ever been.”
Biden says that a ceasefire in the Israel region is closer than ever. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
“I don’t want to jinx anything. But as my grandfather said — by the grace of God and with a lot of luck, we might have something,” he continued. “But we’re not there yet. We’re much, much closer than we were three days ago.”
A senior Iranian security official has warned that Iran will attack Israel if its talks with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza fall apart, a report says.
HAMAS REFUSES TO ATTEND GAZA CEASE-FIRE TALKS AS BIDEN SAYS IT’S ‘STILL POSSIBLE’ TO REACH DEAL
Iranians burn a representation of the Israeli flag during the funeral ceremony of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel, at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) Square in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
The official, speaking to Reuters, said Iran and its allies, including Hezbollah, would also launch a direct attack on the Jewish State if it believes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is dragging out negotiations with the Palestinian terrorist group.
Only Israel and Hamas reaching a ceasefire deal would hold Iran back from a direct strike against Israel in the wake of the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July, three senior Iranian officials told Reuters, but the news agency notes that the sources did not say how long Iran would let the talks progress before deciding to take any action.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
After signing the proclamation, President Biden told the guests and reporters that he was late to the event because the administration is ‘closer than [they’ve] ever been’ to a ceasefire deal in the Middle East. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Hamas said Sunday it would not participate in new negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza this week unless mediators presented a plan based on previous talks. Talks are expected to resume on Thursday.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.