United States: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has cautioned G7 ministers that Iran and Hezbollah are likely to attack Israel in the coming 24 to 48 hours.
The assessment of Antony Blinken, which he told to Axios news, has also made Israel to consider launching a preemptive strike to deter Iran if it uncovered airtight evidence that Tehran was preparing to mount an attack.
The speculations came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened Israel’s security chiefs for a meeting on Sunday evening.
The meeting, attended by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, Mossad head David Barnea and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, was held amid preparations for anticipated attacks on Israel by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
The tension was raised following last week’s back-to-back assassinations of Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran denounced Israel for Haniyeh’s death and threatened to retaliate.
The secretary of state told his counterparts that the US is making efforts to break the escalatory cycle by trying to limit the attacks by Iran and Hezbollah as much as possible and then restrain the Israeli response. Blinken also stressed the importance of a ceasefire deal more than ever before.
G7 Foreign Ministers have released a statement on the situation in the Middle East, “We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the EU, express our deep concern at the heightened level of tension in the Middle East which threatens to ignite a broader conflict in the region. We urge all involved parties once again to refrain from perpetuating the current destructive cycle of retaliatory violence, to lower tensions and to engage constructively toward de-escalation. No country or nation stands to gain from a further escalation in the Middle East.”
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