The US is aiming “to turn the temperature down” in the Middle East, the country’s ambassador to the UN has said, as fears of an Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel loom.

On Tuesday, Linda Thomas Greenfield told the UN Security Council in New York the US wanted to “deter and defend against any future attack and avoid regional conflict”.

There are fears Iran could retaliate against Israel following July’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran – something Israel has not said it was behind. US President Joe Biden suggested reaching a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could help deter Iran from launching an attack on Israel, reports the BBC.

“That’s my expectation but we’ll see,” he said when asked by a reporter on Tuesday.

“We’ll see what Iran does and we’ll see what happens if there’s any attack, but I’m not giving up,” he said, while exiting his plane during a visit to New Orleans, Louisiana. A new round of ceasefire talks is scheduled to take place in either Doha or Cairo today