Biden Promises Israel 'Ironclad' Support Against Iran, Walks Back Call For Unilateral Ceasefire

President Joe Biden has promised "ironclad" support for Israel at a moment US intelligence believes that Iranian reprisals for the April 1st Damascus embassy attack are imminent. The only question that remains is whether it will be a direct attack launched from Iranian soil, or via proxies like Hezbollah.

"As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad," Biden said Wednesday. "Let me say it again — ironclad. We’re going to do all we can to protect Israel’s security." He explained this is in response to Tehran "threatening to launch a significant attack on Israel."

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has vowed swift and strong retaliation: "If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran," he said in a statement on X, echoing prior similar words of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The US administration has also said it is not ruling out launching joint retaliatory strikes with Israel in a scenario it is attacked by Iran or its proxies, we detailed previously.

Also, Biden appeared to walk back a call for Israel to declare a six-to-eight-week ceasefire in Gaza. In an interview given to Univision which aired Tuesday, Biden had said, "So what I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country."

But on Wednesday Biden said it is "up to Hamas" to be willing to release the hostages as a condition for achieving ceasefire, contradicting the prior unilateral ceasefire remarks.

According to the new statement: "It’s now up to Hamas. They need to move on the proposal that has been made [so we can] get these hostages home where they belong," Biden said during a press conference on Wednesday. "It also brings back a six-week ceasefire that we need now."

Israel on Thursday once again blamed Hamas for "walking away" in ceasefire talks. Hamas has this week told negotiators that it cannot immediate locate 40 of the hostages, as they appear to be scattered at different locations across the strip - held in some cases by various militants and families.

Meanwhile former US president Donald Trump has claimed Biden "totally abandoned Israel" and that "Any Jewish person that votes for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have their head examined."

PM Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated Thursday regarding the Iran threat, "We set a simple principle: Anyone who hits us, we hit them."

Biden is not just feeling the pressure from the GOP frontrunner for president, but also from within his own base, as Progressives continue to express outrage at his Gaza policy and the soaring death toll. Hundreds of thousands of Democrat voters, some in key swing states, have declared they will not vote for Biden this time around.