President Biden recounted his administration's diplomatic achievements in pre-scheduled remarks on Monday afternoon at the State Department as negotiators in Doha say hostage talks are likely to be finalized within 24 hours.
The timing of Biden's remarks was nothing short of anxiety-inducing for the world watching the president in hopes of a glimpse into the state of the negotiations, a collective breath held every time Biden began a sentence with the words, "I can report..."
Biden dutifully only hinted toward the negotiations toward the end of his remarks, saying, "We're on the brink of the proposal that I laid out in detail months ago, finally coming to fruition."
"I have learned many years of public service to never, never, never, ever give up," he said. "So I spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, I spoke to [Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani] today, I look forward to speaking with [Egyptian President al-Sisi] soon, pressing hard to close this deal."
Biden said there's a structure that frees the hostages, halts the fighting, provides security to Israel, and allows a significant surge in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians "who suffered terribly in this war and Hamas started."
'Hostages and their families deserve to be reunited'
"They've been through hell. So many innocent people have been killed, and so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace and the right to determine their own futures," Biden said. "Israel deserves peace and real security. The hostages and their families deserve to be reunited."
"So we're working to close this deal," he concluded.
The weakening of Iran was among the list of his administration's accomplishments, following supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia.
In a strategically constructed sentence, Biden said, "And now look at Iran. Did you ever think we [would be] where we are with Iran at this moment? After those despicable attacks by Hamas on October 7, Iran directly attacked Israel twice with hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones."
He continued, adding "twice [Iran] failed because the United States organized a coalition of countries to stop them and order US aircraft to come to the defense of Israel."
Now, Iran's air defenses are in shambles, Biden said, and the main proxy, Hezbollah, is badly wounded.
Biden said the US kept the pressure on Iran with sanctions as it tested Tehran's willingness to revive the nuclear deal, leaving its economy in desperate straits.
"All told, Iran is weaker than it's been in decades, and we want more evidence [of a] seriously weakened Iran and Russia," he said.