By Andrea Shalal and Matt Spetalnick
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House on Wednesday voiced concern about the increased risk of an escalation into a broader Middle East war after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran drew threats of retaliation against Israel.
Speaking to reporters, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby (NYSE:KEX) said, however, that Washington did not see an all-out conflict in the region as imminent or inevitable and that it was working to prevent that from happening.
"When you have events - dramatic events, violent events caused by whatever actor - it certainly doesn't make the task of achieving that outcome any easier," Kirby told a daily briefing in Washington.
He said the U.S. still believed there was a “viable” process to reach a ceasefire deal to end more than nine months of fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, despite concerns that effort had been dealt a serious blow.
The Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas and Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, who had participated in internationally-brokered indirect talks on reaching a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave. The Guards said it took place hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for Iran's new president.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government issued no claim of responsibility. The Israeli leader also made no mention of Haniyeh's killing in a televised statement but said Israel had delivered crushing blows to Iran's proxies of late, including Hamas and Hezbollah, and would respond forcefully to any attack.
The assassination occurred less than 24 hours after Israel claimed to have killed Hezbollah's most senior military commander in the Lebanese capital Beirut in retaliation for a deadly rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
CONCERNS OF ESCALATION
"We don't want to see an escalation," Kirby said. "Those risks go up and down every day. They are certainly up right now. They don't make the task of de-escalation, deterrence and dissuasion - which is the goal - any less complicated."
While saying he could not confirm Haniyeh's death, Kirby referred to comments by Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Supreme Leader said Israel had provided the grounds for "harsh punishment for itself" and it was Tehran's duty to avenge Haniyeh's death.
Iranian forces had already made strikes directly on Israel earlier in the Gaza war, which was triggered by a Hamas-led cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
Kirby declined to say whether the U.S. was urging restraint by Israel.
While the latest events appear to set back any prospects for an imminent ceasefire agreement in Gaza, Kirby said: "We haven't seen any indications ... that the process has been completely torpedoed.”
“We still believe the deal on the table is worth pursuing,” he added.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at an event in Singapore, sidestepped a question on Haniyeh's killing, saying a ceasefire deal in Gaza was key to avoiding wider regional conflict. He told Channel News Asia that the U.S. had neither been aware of nor involved in the killing.
Blinken spoke by phone to Jordanian and Qatari leaders, and the State Department said they discussed regional tensions and efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire.
The United States will take every possible measure to protect its personnel and interests in the Middle East after recent attacks there, U.S. State Department Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.
The U.S. also urged its citizens to not travel to Lebanon, citing rising tensions between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group.