US 'pressures all parties' in Middle East to de-escalate tensions
The US Secretary of State said Washington is preparing to help Israel counter an imminent retaliatory attack by Iran.
According to RT, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on August 7 that all parties in the Middle East, including Israel, should refrain from actions that would escalate the situation. The region is facing the risk of retaliation from Iran for the assassination of a senior Hamas official, which Tehran blames on Israel.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian militant movement, was killed last week in a bomb attack after arriving in Iran from his residence in Qatar. Tehran has vowed revenge against Israel, accusing it of violating Iran's sovereignty.
"Over the past several days, we have been in constant contact with partners in and outside the region. In those conversations, we have heard a clear consensus: no one should be allowed to escalate this conflict," Mr. Blinken told reporters.
The top US diplomat reiterated Washington's commitment to defending Israel, but stressed that the Jewish state should restrain its actions.
“Further strikes only increase the risk of dangerous consequences that no one can predict and no one can fully control,” he warned, adding that the US would “press all parties involved, including Israel, to avoid anything that could actually escalate the conflict.”
Mr. Blinken stressed that easing tensions is important not only to prevent a major conflict in the region but also to facilitate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Asked why Washington expected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to heed US President Joe Biden's calls, after having so far ignored them, Mr Blinken declined to answer directly.
The US diplomat spoke to reporters after he and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Australian counterparts at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Sunday that in a recent conversation, Mr. Biden told Mr. Netanyahu that the Israeli prime minister was trying to deceive him about efforts to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
“Mr. Netanyahu is trying to prolong the war instead of focusing on how to reach a hostage agreement,” Haaretz quoted a senior Biden administration official as saying. “That makes it difficult for us to continue to support Israel over time.”
