Captives exchange discussions between "Israel" and the Palestinian resistance, Hamas are set to begin as soon as this week, despite a small delay caused by Iran's retaliatory strike, a senior US administration official said on Sunday.

The US official told reporters that the US looks forward to "picking that back up as early as this coming week."

"Obviously, the situation delayed that a little bit, but we look forward to picking that back up as early as this coming week," he stated.

White House spokesperson John Kirby revealed that the United States does not want to see more escalations in the Middle East, following the events of Iran's retaliatory operation against "Israel" on Sunday. 

"We're not looking for a wider war with Iran," he told NBC's Meet the Press. 

The White House official also added that the US was "staying vigilant" to Iranian threats against US soldiers, saying "We made it very clear to all parties, including Iran, what we would do ... and also how seriously we would take any potential threats to our personnel."

This comes after the IRGC warned the US government that supporting or taking part in harming Iran's interests would result in a decisive and regrettable response by the Iranian Armed Forces.

The IRGC launched a massive operation late Saturday, targeting the occupation entity with dozens of missiles and drones in response to the attack on Iran's consulate in Damascus last week, which resulted in the martyrdom of seven senior IRGC advisors, including Brigadier General martyr Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the leader of the IRGC's Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon.

Related News

Tehran calls US veto of UN Gaza resolution a 'license' for Israeli war

Bitcoin surpasses $96,000 amid optimism over Trump's crypto agenda

In a statement, the Corps said that the operation targeting "Israel," dubbed "True Promise," came following the "silence and neglect" of international organizations regarding the attack on the consulate and the assassination of its senior members. The statement pointed out that the United Nations Security Council also failed to condemn the Israeli aggression or punish the entity in accordance with Article 7 of the UN Charter.

Netanyahu appears indifferent to captives fate, undermined deal effort

Families of captives held in Gaza held their weekly rally in "Tel Aviv" on Saturday evening, along with protests across "Israel" against the government, days after negotiators explosively reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared unconcerned about those held captive.

According to Israeli Channel 13, around 45,000 people demonstrated in "Tel Aviv" last Saturday, with organizers claiming 100,000 were there. 

Today's demonstrations came after two members of "Israel's" negotiation team told Channel 12 in a broadcast aired Thursday that Netanyahu looks unconcerned about the plight of Israeli captives and has hampered efforts to strike an agreement to guarantee their release.

The anonymous negotiators, recognized only by the letters "A" and "D", wished to expose the fact that "Israel" was not doing everything it could to free the captives.

"A", who spoke with a modified voice to conceal his identity, highlighted a culture of "cold indifference" to the captives' condition from "the top", notably the Prime Minister's Office, and said that Netanyahu was unable to consider fresh ideas during strategy discussions.

"I can't say that without Netanyahu there would have been a deal, but I can say that without Netanyahu, the chances of making a deal would be better," according to "D".

“It happens again and again, we get a mandate during the day, and then the prime minister makes phone calls at night. He says, ‘Don’t say this, don’t approve that."

"A" also stated that the Israeli team has been compelled to make unreasonable requests, such as the March request for a list of surviving captives, which they know Hamas will not accede to.