US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held phone conversations with his French and British counterparts regarding rising tensions in the Middle East.
Tensions between Israel and its rivals Hezbollah and Iran rose sharply after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, in Tehran on Wednesday. Earlier, the Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander of the Lebanese terrorist organisation Hezbollah.
In the telephone conversation today, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Sejourne and US Secretary of State Blinken “agreed to continue calling on all parties to exercise the greatest restraint in order to prevent any regional upheaval that would have devastating consequences for countries in the region and for peace prospects, starting with a lasting ceasefire in Gaza,” according to France’s foreign ministry.
“The secretary and the foreign minister discussed ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire to secure the release of hostages and surge humanitarian aid to Gaza, as well as well as the importance of preventing further escalation of conflict in the Middle East and the challenges posed by threats from Iran,” says the US readout on the call.
Apart from talks with the French foreign minister, Blinken also held a conversation with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Both parties reiterated the need to de-escalate rising tensions in the Middle East and prevent the conflict from spreading, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. The State Department said: “They stressed the importance of finalising the ceasefire and hostage release deal under negotiation as soon as possible.”
Earlier, the Pentagon said it would send more Navy cruisers and destroyers capable of shooting down ballistic missiles to the region and Europe. According to the statement, the decision will increase readiness to deploy more ground-based missile defence systems in the event of an attack from Iran.
