Last week, Israel declared war after Hamas terrorists brutalized Israeli communities in an unprecedented ground invasion. More than 1,200 Israelis are dead, thousands more injured, and over 100 have been captured. Israeli forces have been fighting back, striking a number of Hamas targets, and now they're preparing for an "integrated and coordinated attack from the air, sea, and land." But Israeli forces are not just fighting in the south. The IDF said Sunday it hit targets in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack on an Israeli border town.
The Biden administration, concerned about Israel's enemies creating new fronts, is looking to quell any further escalation, especially with Iranian-backed extremists in the north.
Asked Sunday what the president's message is to Hezbollah and Iran, President Biden repeated the same warning he gave to Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022: "Don't, don't, don't, don't."
"Don't come across the border? Don't escalate this war?" CBS's Scott Pelley followed up.
"That's right," Biden replied.
Joe Biden has a message for Hezbollah and Iran: “don’t don’t don’t don’t.”
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 15, 2023
Couldn’t make this up. pic.twitter.com/jVRJVH3lYz
"Don't. Don't. Don't. You will change the face of war unlike anything since World War II," is what President Joe Biden says he would tell President Vladimir Putin if the Russian leader is contemplating the use of tactical nuclear or chemical weapons. Sunday, on 60 Minutes. pic.twitter.com/8xxaDnYcqj
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 16, 2022
Pelley then pressed him on whether Iran is "behind the Gaza war," but the president claimed there's "no clear evidence of that."
He added, "Now, Iran constantly supports Hamas and Hezbollah. I don't mean that. But in terms of were they, did they have foreknowledge that they are planning the attack? They – there's there's no evidence of that at this point."
That position is at odds with Iran's long history of supporting and funding terrorists, including Hamas, and its celebration of the Oct. 7 attack afterward.
A senior Israeli official also told CBS News last week that Iran's fingerprints are all over the attack.
"Without Iran, this attack could not have happened. This is what I can assure you," said Ron Dermer, Israel's Minister of Strategic Affairs.