white house –

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that the United States was not involved in Israel’s pre-dawn airstrikes inside Iran and declined to confirm reports that Washington was informed of Israeli plans shortly before the attack.

“I will not comment on the reports that you have seen, other than to say that the United States was not involved in any offensive operations,” he told a news conference after the G7 meeting. G7) Foreign Minister in Capo, Italy Island.

He said the G7 was focused on avoiding a wider war in the region.

“You’re seeing unprecedented attacks on Israel, but our focus is certainly on ensuring that Israel can defend itself effectively while also de-escalating tensions and avoiding conflict,” Blinken said.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who is chairing the G7 meeting, said the United States had informed its G7 partners that it had received “last-minute” information from Israel about its actions.

In a G7 communiqué, Blinken and other foreign ministers announced plans for new sanctions in response to Iran’s attacks on Israel and urged a de-escalation of tensions. Tehran appears to be paying attention to this now.

The Israeli attack appeared to be in retaliation for Iran’s April 13 launch of hundreds of drones and missiles into Israel. Most of them were intercepted with the help of the United States and regional allies including Jordan and Saudi Arabia, causing no casualties and only a few casualties. damage. That suggests Iran may have adjusted the attack to limit casualties or wired it in advance, but the White House has denied this.

The attacks against Iran appeared limited early Friday, with no casualties immediately reported.

U.S. President Joe Biden has been urging Israel to exercise restraint and avoid an escalation of Iranian attacks. His government has been coordinating a “comprehensive response” with allies and partners, including the G7.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement earlier this week that the measures could include new sanctions on Tehran and strengthening air and missile defenses and early warning systems across the Middle East.

Iranian state media reported in the early hours of Friday local time that three explosions were heard in the Iranian city of Isfahan. Explosions were reported in Iraq and Syria around the same time.

Tehran said the April 13 attack was in response to an Israeli airstrike on April 1 on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. The explosion killed Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and other Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders. Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the attack.

Analysts said Israel’s limited counterattack and Iran’s low-key response showed that both sides were willing to avoid further escalation, at least for now. Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said the risk of escalation remains higher than ever.

He told VOA: “The shadow conflict between Iran and Israel has turned into a low-level open war between the two countries. The Middle East is in uncharted territory.”

Israel expected to launch attack

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Middle East analyst from Gaza and a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said that despite U.S. pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel is expected to take some kind of action form of retaliatory strikes.

He told VOA that the Biden administration understands that Israel needs to take its own “face-saving” retaliatory actions after Iran launched an unprecedented and dramatic attack last Saturday.

Alkhatib said the party that might benefit most from any potential escalation is Hamas.

“Iran’s direct strikes against Israel have emboldened the group, strengthening its negotiating position in the latest ceasefire and hostage exchange talks brokered by Qatar,” he said.

Biden has so far been unsuccessful in pushing for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Over the weekend, the U.S.-designated terrorist group made new demands, throwing negotiations into disarray.

It is unclear how Israel’s counterattack against Iran will affect the dynamics of negotiations with Hamas.

“This is a moment of instability, but it’s also a moment of opportunity,” said Laura Blumenfield, senior fellow at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

“World leaders agree that the key to de-escalating the situation is to release the hostages,” she told VOA, adding that the message to Hamas hostage negotiators was to “get out if you fall behind.”