US Senate Foreign Relations chair sees tensions rising after death of Hamas leader
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, a top foreign relations lawmaker, warned Wednesday the apparent assassination of senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran “raises the temperature” as a cease-fire and hostage deal to end the Israel-Hamas conflict hangs in the balance.
Cardin, chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, told reporters during a closed-door briefing that the reported death of Hamas’ chief negotiator “makes it much more challenging right now in regards to the hostage negotiations.”
“And it makes a hot situation even hotter for our concerns about the expansion of the conflict, so we’re going to be watching that very, very closely,” the Democrat said, adding that he was still awaiting more details.
Haniyeh was reportedly killed Wednesday in Tehran hours after attending the inauguration for Iran’s new president, according to Hamas, the Iran-backed militant group that holds power in Gaza. Both Hamas and Iran issued statements implicating Israel in the attack.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Khamenei declared on social media that his country had a “duty to take revenge” for an attack within its borders.
U.S. reaction
The Biden administration had no advance information about the attack, national security spokesperson John Kirby said at Wednesday’s White House press briefing.
“I’m not in a position to confirm the reports coming out of Tehran,” Kirby said.
When asked whether the administration was concerned the leader’s death could complicate cease-fire negotiations, Kirby said “It’s always been a complicated process.”
“It’s too soon to know what any of these reported events could mean,” he added.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Singapore Wednesday, told Channel News Asia that the U.S. was “not aware of or involved in” the attack and that it remains focused on cease-fire negotiations to end the war in Gaza and release all hostages.
Blinken held calls with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Jordan’s deputy prime minister Wednesday to discuss growing regional tensions and the continuation of cease-fire talks to end the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller. Qatar has been mediating cease-fire talks.
Al-Thani, who is also the country’s minister of foreign affairs, condemned the alleged assassination of Haniyeh, who lived in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
“Political assassinations & continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Al-Thani wrote on social media Wednesday. “Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life.”
Israel has not commented on the attack.
Netanyahu and Congress
The event follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, during which he declared he would accept nothing less than total victory over Hamas.
The alleged assassination also occurred less than 24 hours after Israel claimed responsibility for the killing of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr near Beirut, Lebanon.
Netanyahu said in a statement that Shukr “was directly responsible for the massacre of our dear boys and girls in Majdal Shams,” referring to a rocket attack that killed 12 children on a soccer field Saturday in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights.
Netanyahu did not mention the reported Haniyeh killing during his televised address Wednesday, later translated to English, but said his country is “prepared for any scenario and we will stand united and determined against any threat. Israel will exact a very heavy price for aggression against us from whatever quarter.”
‘We expected Israel would respond’
Cardin said he is concerned about the “very, very dangerous situation for escalation.”
“The Lebanon strike was certainly something that we are not shocked to see with the tragedy occurring in the Golan (Heights). We expected Israel would respond. We’ve urged Israel to be measured in their responses, that we don’t want to see an escalation in the conflict,” Cardin said.
“So we’re not shocked by what has happened, but we are concerned about that type of deep penetration into Lebanon well beyond just the border areas, and it can escalate,” Cardin said. “Escalation is not in Israel’s interest, not in the United States’ interest, not in the region’s interest.”
Cardin said he’s concerned the back-and-forth between Israel and Iranian-backed militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah is slowing any potential end to the Israel-Hamas fighting that was ignited after the militant group invaded Israel, killing over 1,100 and taking upwards of 200 hostages.
“We also are concerned about making final progress and getting a deal for the release of the hostages and a cease-fire so we can get to the next phase of the process towards peace in the Middle East,” Cardin said. “And every time you have this tit-for-tat, something happening, it makes it more challenging to get to that step.”
When asked what the U.S. role should be in defending Israel, Cardin said the U.S. would be “very reluctant” about the U.S.becoming involved in “any type of military operation into a sovereign country.”
Pentagon view
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters Wednesday that wider conflict erupting in the Middle East is “not inevitable.”
“If Israel is attacked, we certainly will help,” Austin said.
In April, the U.S. and allies intercepted dozens of missiles and drones launched toward Israel from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
“You can expect to see us do that again. But we don’t want to see any of that happen. We’re going to work hard to make sure that, you know, we’re doing things to help take (the) temperature down and address issues through diplomatic means,” Austin said, according to a transcript of his remarks to reporters shared by the Defense Department.
Cardin said strengthening relations among Middle East nations would ensure regional security against future Iran attacks.
“The whole concept here is to protect against Iran and its proxies, and (when) we can move forward with normalization, Israel’s gonna be in a much better position,” he said.
Ashley Murray covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include domestic policy and appropriations.
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