The United States has asked Türkiye, China and Saudi Arabia to urge Iran not to increase tensions with Israel amid concerns about a risk of escalation in the Middle East after Iran’s Damascus Consulate was attacked, according to the U.S. State Department on Thursday.
Escalation is “something we have been working to mitigate and contain since the attacks of Oct. 7, and specifically about the threats made in recent days by Iran against the state of Israel and the Israeli people,” spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.
Tel Aviv is on high alert amid fears of a possible Iranian attack on Israeli targets after threats by Tehran to retaliate for an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus on April 1.
At least seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two top generals, were killed in the attack in Syria.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has engaged in diplomacy in the last 24 hours through a series of telephone calls with foreign counterparts, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, said Miller.
The calls are to “make clear that escalation is not in anyone’s interest and that countries should urge Iran not to escalate.”
“We have also engaged with European allies and partners over the past few days and urge them as well to send a clear message to Iran that escalation is not in Iran’s interest. It’s not in the region’s interest and it’s not in the world’s interest,” he added.
Blinken also held a call Wednesday with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and said the U.S. will “stand with Israel against any threats by Iran and its proxies.”
U.S. President Joe Biden warned that Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is “ironclad” after Tehran vowed revenge for the airstrike on its consulate.
“We’re going to do all we can to protect Israel’s security,” Biden said during a news conference Wednesday with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
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