'We will respond' to Iranian attacks on US troops, Biden says

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President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the US would respond to any attacks on American troops in the Middle East, and issued a direct warning to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Mr Biden, speaking alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, warned Iran not to use the Israel-Gaza conflict as an excuse to conduct operations against US forces, which have been stationed in Iraq and Syria on an anti-ISIS mission since 2014.

“My warning to the Ayatollah was that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond,” he said.

"It has nothing to do with Israel."

The Biden administration has repeatedly warned of the risk of more attacks on US troops and of Iran seeking to widen the conflict.

More than 10 such attacks have been recorded in the past week or so, officials said.

The US has been bolstering its military presence in the region, moving an aircraft carrier and attack ships to the Arabian Gulf.

It has also sent advanced missile defence systems to reinforce its troops stationed across the Middle East.

Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 200 others hostage.

Israel responded with a bombardment of retaliatory air strikes on Gaza that have killed more than 6,500 Palestinians, and says it is preparing for an imminent ground invasion aimed at destroying Hamas.

Mr Biden said Israel "should be incredibly careful to ensure they're going after the folks propagating this war" and avoid harming civilians.

"Israel has to do everything in its power, as difficult as it is, to protect innocent civilians. It's difficult," he said.

Mr Biden also shared doubt on civilian death numbers that Palestinian officials have reported.

"I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed," he said. "I'm sure innocents have been killed, and it's a price of waging war.

"But I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using."

Hamas's attack, Mr Biden said, was aimed at thwarting progress towards a normalisation deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

"I'm convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when they did – I have no proof of this, my instinct tells me – is because of the progress we're making towards regional integration for Israel," he said.

"We can't leave that work behind."

Dennis Ross, a former US envoy to the Middle East, on Wednesday said it was still possible to broker a deal under the Abraham Accords that would establish relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but the conflict has delayed it.

Mr Biden said when the latest escalation is over, his administration would make renewed efforts to reach a two-state solution to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live side by side in safety, dignity and peace," he said.

Mr Biden also condemned a recent rise in attacks by Jewish settler groups against Palestinians in the West Bank.

"I continue to be alarmed by extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank," he said. "They're attacking Palestinians in places they're entitled to be.

"It has to stop now."