President Biden scuttled his weekend plans in Delaware to return to Washington a day early to deal with rising tensions in the Middle East.
Mr. Biden left his beach home in Delaware Saturday afternoon, the White House announced, to consult with his national security team about events in the Middle East.
Though the White House did not say specifically why Mr. Biden was returning, his swift return to Washington comes as his administration has been warning of a possible retaliatory attack from Iran on Israel after the Jewish State killed a senior Iranian official with a strike at an embassy in Syria.
It also comes a day after Mr. Biden stoked concerns of an impending Iranian attack, signaling that a strike was not a matter of if, but when. U.S. officials have been pressuring Tehran to back down from a wider Middle East conflict.
The U.S. began moving troops and other assets into the Middle East on Friday to deter Iran from launching a strike and protecting troops in the region. That move came as Iran prepared a large number of missiles and drones for a potential strike against Israel.
Meanwhile, Mr. Biden and U.S. officials have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to launch an assault in Rafah in Gaza’s northern region and have ramped up criticism of Mr. Netanyahu’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
However the growing discontent in the Biden administration with Mr. Netanyahu did not stop the president from promising to support Israel in the face of a possible attack from Iran or its proxies.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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