Iran, Hezbollah Could Attack Israel in Next 24 Hours, Blinken Says

The United States and its allies are trying to put pressure on the Islamists to stop the escalation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Iran and Hezbollah could launch their attack as early as today, August 5.

According to Axios , the Secretary of State called a conference call to coordinate with close US allies from the Group of Seven (G7) countries. The Americans want to try to at least at the last minute organize diplomatic pressure on Iran and Hezbollah to minimize their retaliation.

Blinken said limiting the impact of Islamist strikes is the best chance to prevent a full-scale war. While Washington is confident that Iran and Hezbollah will attack Israel, Secretary of State did not specify what kind of retaliation that would be, compared to the April 13 attack, when Islamists launched nearly 35 drones and missiles that Tel Aviv and its allies worked together to intercept.

“We don’t know the exact timing of the attacks, but they could begin as early as the next 24 to 48 hours, which would mean as early as Monday. The United States is working to break the cycle of escalation by trying to limit attacks by Iran and Hezbollah as much as possible, and then deter Israel’s response,” Blinken said.

He called on the G7 foreign ministers to exert diplomatic pressure on Iran, Hezbollah and Israel to maintain maximum restraint.

According to one of the people involved in the call, Blinken appeared frustrated as he briefed the ministers on recent negotiations with Israel to free hostages in Gaza and a cease-fire agreement. The secretary of state acknowledged that before the Tehran assassination, the White House was “close to a breakthrough” and that “an agreement is needed now more than ever.”

Escalation in the Middle East

As UNIAN reported, after the assassination of Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh, Iran pounced on Israel with accusations and announced “severe punishment.”

A number of countries, including the United States, Great Britain, France and Canada, have called on their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible. Ukraine has already evacuated 30 of its citizens from Lebanon.

The media reported that Israel was preparing for multi-day shelling from two directions.

White House Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer announced that the United States of America is deploying additional military forces to the Middle East . This includes additional fighter jets and Navy warships.

(C)UNIAN 2024