WASHINGTON, August 7. /TASS/. The US and its allies have directly indicated to Israel and Iran that the further escalation of tensions is inadmissible, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said following US-Australian talks.
"No one should escalate this conflict. We’ve been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We communicated that message directly to Israel," he told reporters.
That said, he stressed that the US is always ready to ensure Israel’s security. "Further attacks only raise the risk of dangerous outcomes that no one can predict and no one can fully control," he cautioned.
Earlier, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US will continue convincing Iran to abandon any further escalation. In turn, US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said that the US, via mediators, is trying to convince Iran to abandon any escalation in the Middle East.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria, followed by a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.
Another round of escalation followed the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the elimination of Hezbollah top military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah held Israel responsible and asserted that the attacks will be retaliated.