An anticipated retaliatory strike by Iran against Israel forced Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a planned trip to the Middle East to help negotiate a cease-fire in Gaza. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI
Anticipated Iranian retaliatory strike on Israel forces Blinken to postpone trip
UPI: Rising tensions among Iran and its proxies and Israel forced U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday to postpone a planned trip to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
Blinken postponed the diplomatic trip due to security concerns as Iran threatened to retaliate against Israel for the recent killings of the top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
Blinken was scheduled to help broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and to prevent a significant escalation of regional conflict between Iran, Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah in the Middle East.
Blinken's itinerary included stops in Israel, Egypt and Qatar while trying to get Hamas leaders to resume cease-fire and hostage-release negotiations to end the war in Gaza.
The negotiations were to resume Thursday, but newly appointed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has demanded Israel stop it military campaign before resuming talks.
U.S. officials have said a cease-fire deal is close to being finalized but no formal agreement has been reached to stop fighting in Gaza.
Iranian officials refuse to stand down to enable negotiations to continue or to prevent a widening military conflict in the Middle East despite a joint request from governmental leaders in the United States, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
"Iran is determined to defend its sovereignty and national security," Iranian Ministry of Foreign affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a prepared statement Tuesday.
Kanaani accused Israel of violating international law by engaging in alleged genocide and other war crimes while waging war on Hamas in Gaza.
Iranian and Hamas officials say Israel assassinated former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh while he was staying at a hotel in Tehran and after he returned from an inaugural ceremony for Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian
U.S and Israeli officials have said that they anticipate a retaliatory strike from Iran sometime this week.
-
- Politics
- 14 August 2024 12:34
In World
-
Pyongyang went loud and proud on Monday about its plans for nuclear weapons as the United Nations grilled its representative over a recent missile launch.
-
Russia on Tuesday denounced Moldova's weekend election as unfair and said it did not see the winner, Maia Sandu, as the legitimate president of the country.
-
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Monday he had discussed with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock the "need for decisive action" in response to North Korean involvement in the war with Russia.
-
South Korea and the European Union on Monday jointly condemned North Korea's supply of weaponry to Moscow and demanded that it withdraw troops it has sent as Russia wages war against Ukraine.
Leave a review