![White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby would not rule out on Monday a direct military confrontation with Iran if Tehran gets involved in the Gaza conflict. [Screenshot Good Morning America]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-16-at-11.01.38-AM-e1697468571691.png "White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby would not rule out on Monday a direct military confrontation with Iran if Tehran gets involved in the Gaza conflict. [Screenshot Good Morning America]")
White House national security spokesman John Kirby would not rule out Monday a direct military confrontation with Iran if Tehran were to get involved in the Gaza conflict.
“I think that … it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again,” Biden said on a “60 minutes” episode that aired Sunday. “But going in … taking out the extremists — Hezbollah up north and Hamas down south — is a necessary requirement.”
Kirby said on “Good Morning America” the U.S. is working with Israel and continues to “stress to them that it’s really important that innocent civilian lives be protected, that humanitarian assistance can get in.”
Kirby went on to say targeting Hamas specifically is difficult due to Gaza’s dense population in an urban environment.
“There’s also the concern of a wider war. We’ve seen the U.S. moving those aircraft carriers into the region. What has been the message to Iran and others?” host George Stephanopoulos asked. (RELATED: Martha MacCalluum Confronts John Kirby Over Biden Admin Calling Early Lid Amid War In Israel)
“Don’t get involved. Do not try to widen or deepen this conflict any more than it already has. We have very serious national security interests in the region. The presence of those military forces is meant to signal that we take our obligations to defend those interests seriously. If another actor, be it a terrorist group or a nation state, is thinking about jumping in here and making a second or third front for Israel, our advice to them is not to do it.”
“Does that mean those carriers would strike if Iran enters?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“I don’t ever talk about future operations one way or another, and I’m certainly not going to start speculating. I’m just telling you that we are going to make sure we have sufficient force and capability in the region to protect our interests,” Kirby said.
The death toll of Americans as a result of the war in Israel has climbed to 30, according to a spokesman for the State Department.