Biden says he warned Iran against getting involved in Gaza conflict

Speaking to a group of Jewish community leaders at a meeting in Washington on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he warned Iran against joining forces with the Hamas terror organization against Israel.

The president claimed that his order to send the USS Gerald Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean was a warning to Iran.

“We moved the US carrier fleet to the eastern Mediterranean and we are sending more fighter jets to that region and made it clear to the Iranians: Be careful,” Biden told the leaders at the roundtable meeting in the White House.

Biden also compared Hamas’ atrocities to those of ISIS, saying that the “evil that echoes the worst, matches, in some cases exceeds, the worst atrocities of ISIS.”

Biden also said he assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that more military aid for Israel is coming in his fourth call with the Israeli premier since the Hamas terror invasion on Saturday.

Biden told the Jewish leaders that “downplaying Hamas’ atrocities and blaming the Jewish people is unthinkable.”

The president said he is working diligently to secure the release of the hostages held by Iran.

“We’re working on every aspect of the hostage crisis in Israel including deploying experts to advise on assist and recovery,” Biden assured the Jewish leaders.

In another show of support, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was dispatched to Israel and is expected to arrive on Thursday.

Blinken is scheduled to hold discussions regarding the captives in Gaza, including several Americans, and to work to prevent a wider escalation of the conflict.

On Wednesday, National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby responded to many questions regarding the hostages.

“We’re in discussions not only with the Israelis about what hostage recovery could look like but with other allies and partners in the region. There are some countries, like Qatar, that have open lines of communication with Hamas,” Kirby said.

“We’re casting the net wide, as you would expect we would. We want to get all these hostages back with their families, particularly the American hostages.”

The hostage situation has been complicated by Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, where the hostages are reportedly being held captive.

Israeli airstrikes continued Thursday morning, and the IDF has deployed tanks, armored vehicles and more than 100,000 soldiers to the border of Gaza.

A ground campaign is expected to be announced at any time.