One year ago, national security adviser Jake Sullivan praised the Biden administration’s success at keeping the peace in the Middle East, just one week before the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
“The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades” Sullivan said during a Sept. 29, 2023, appearance at the Atlantic Festival.
At the time, Sullivan pointed to a list of positive developments in the Middle East, including a truce in Yemen, a decrease in Iranian attacks on U.S. troops, and a “stable” Iraq.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan gestures during a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Aug. 29, 2024. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
But just one week later, Iranian-backed Hamas launched a terrorist attack against Israel, with the militant group firing rockets at the Jewish state while thousands of militants breached the Gaza-Israel barrier and attacked Israeli civilians.
The attack resulted in over 1,100 deaths, over 250 people taken hostage, and sparked the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group.
The Biden administration has attempted to grapple with the conflict ever since, weighing the concerns of some wings of the Democratic Party more sympathetic to Palestinians while continuing to show support for longtime ally Israel.
Yemeni supporters of the Houthi movement during a rally held in Sanaa on Sept. 27, 2024, in protest against Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. (Abdallah Adel/AFP via Getty Images)
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Meanwhile, Iran has vowed retaliation for multiple Israeli strikes in Lebanon, one of which reportedly killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and spread greater turmoil throughout the region as the administration attempted to call for a three-week cease-fire to head off a potential all-out conflict.
Those tensions with Iran have caused Sullivan to backtrack on some of that optimism from last year, acknowledging fears over escalating tensions in the region while still expressing optimism about a potential resolution to the almost year-old conflict.
An Israeli F-15 Eagle fighter jet flies over the northern city of Haifa on Sept. 26, 2024. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)
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“While the risk of escalation is real, we actually believe there is also a distinct avenue to getting to a cessation of hostilities and a durable solution that makes people on both sides of the border feel secure,” Sullivan said last week, according to a report in Reuters.
The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.