US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked China’s foreign minister and other counterparts to use their influence to dissuade Iran from striking Israel, the State Department said on Thursday.
Blinken spoke by telephone over the past day to his Chinese, Turkish, Saudi and European counterparts “to make clear that escalation is not in anyone’s interest and that countries should urge Iran not to escalate”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
Blinken also spoke by phone to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant “to reiterate our strong support for Israel against these threats”, Miller said.
Why Gaza truce talks between Israel and Hamas are at an ‘impasse’
Why Gaza truce talks between Israel and Hamas are at an ‘impasse’
Iran’s clerical leadership has vowed to retaliate after an Israeli strike on April 1 levelled an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus, Syria, killing seven members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards including two generals.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday the United States has “warned” Iran over its threats to Israel.
US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that US support for Israel’s security was “ironclad”, despite his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in Gaza.
The United States has repeatedly made public appeals for China, seen as its top long-term global rival, to do more to address the Middle East crisis, including through pressure on Iran, which supports Hamas.
Beijing in turn has criticised the United States as biased towards Israel.
Denial of responsibility! Chronicles Live is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – chronicleslive.com. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.