Biden says Iran could hold off on Israel attack if Gaza deal reached

• The White House is extremely concerned that if Iran and Hezbollah attack Israel in the next few days it will sabotage the negotiations and kill any possible deal.
• U.S. officials said that while U.S. and Israeli intelligence assessments indicate Iran has made military preparations for an attack on Israel, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei still hasn't given a final order to conduct the attack.
• Khamenei and other senior Iranian political and military officials have said Iran is going to retaliate for Israel's assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month.
• "Iran and Hezbollah don't know what to do. There's a lot of planning but no decisions yet," one U.S. official said.

What they're saying: Biden stressed he was concerned about a possible Iranian attack on Israel and its implications for the hostage and ceasefire deal.

• He said "it's getting harder" to reach a deal but he is not giving up.
• "We'll see what Iran does. We'll see what happens," Biden added.
• When asked if he expected Iran to hold off on a retaliatory strike if a ceasefire deal was reached, Biden said, "that's my expectation."

What to watch: President Biden's top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian officials on the hostage deal and security arrangements for the Egypt-Gaza border, U.S. officials said.

• McGurk is expected to travel to Doha on Wednesday.
• Biden senior adviser Amos Hochstein travelled to Lebanon on Tuesday and is expected to hold talks with Lebanese officials on Wednesday to try to de-escalate tensions with Hezbollah, which has threatened to respond to Israel's assassination of its top military commander in Beirut.
• CIA director Bill Burns is expected to visit Qatar on Thursday and head the U.S. team for the final round of negotiations around the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.