A senior U.S. administration official clarifies that while the joint statement issued by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar refers to the aim of next Thursday’s negotiations as closing the remaining gaps, “It’s not like the agreement is going to be ready to be signed on Thursday.”
“There’s still a significant amount of work to do, but we do believe that what’s left can be bridged,” the senior administration official said, adding that Thursday will only see a “resumption” of the talks, not their finalization.
“If they [Iran] launch a major war in the Middle East with some massive attack on Israel, which they’re threatening in coordination with other groups, well, that’s obviously going to significantly jeopardize any hope of getting a cease-fire in Gaza,” a senior administration official said.
The official says the joint statement by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. was the result of U.S. President Joe Biden’s counterparts in Cairo and Doha pushing for the move and is not specifically aimed at sending a signal to Iran regarding its potential attack on Israel.
