عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Pentagon Chief Austin Discusses Middle East Situation With Israeli Counterpart

File photo: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin welcomes Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
File photo: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin welcomes Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
TT
TT

Pentagon Chief Austin Discusses Middle East Situation With Israeli Counterpart

File photo: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin welcomes Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
File photo: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin welcomes Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon in Washington, US, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin phoned Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday and discussed the US steps in the Middle East to defend Israel and a Gaza ceasefire, Austin said on social media platform X.
"The US F-22 Raptors that arrived in the region today represent one of many efforts to deter aggression, defend Israel and protect US forces in the region," Austin posted.
He added: "I also stressed the importance of concluding a ceasefire deal in Gaza that releases the hostages."
Leaders of the United States, Egypt and Qatar jointly demanded Israel and Hamas return to stalled talks on the war in Gaza next week, saying Thursday that “only the details” of carrying out a ceasefire and hostage release remain to be negotiated. “There is no further time to waste, nor excuses from any party for further delay,” they said in a joint statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Thursday that it had accepted the invitation.
Israel launched its offensive on Gaza after fighters from the Hamas group attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel responded by assaulting the coastal enclave, vowing to annihilate the group. Almost 40,000 people have since been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza’s health authorities, with thousands more bodies feared buried under the rubble.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Pakistan Says It Will Support All Efforts to Prevent Middle East Escalation

Smoke and soil billow after an Israeli strike in al-Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip on August 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Smoke and soil billow after an Israeli strike in al-Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip on August 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
TT
TT

Pakistan Says It Will Support All Efforts to Prevent Middle East Escalation

Smoke and soil billow after an Israeli strike in al-Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip on August 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Smoke and soil billow after an Israeli strike in al-Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip on August 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Pakistan would support all efforts to prevent war escalating in the Middle East, its foreign ministry said on Friday, as fears grow of a wider conflict involving Israel and Iran.

The Middle East is bracing for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following last week's killing of senior members of armed groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Tehran has blamed the death of Hamas's political leader on Iranian soil on Israel, which has not confirmed involvement.

The United States has been carrying out round-the-clock diplomacy, urging other countries through diplomatic channels to tell Iran that escalation in the Middle East is not in their interest, according to the state department.

"Pakistan will support all efforts to prevent a war in the Middle East," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch at a media briefing. She did not comment on whether Pakistan had been in contact with Washington over the issue.

She denied reports by the Jerusalem Post newspaper that Pakistan was planning to provide Shaheen-III medium-range ballistic missiles to Iran.

Pakistan does not have diplomatic ties with Israel. It has seen a stark improvement in previously rocky ties with neighboring Iran that culminated in tit-for-tat military fire between the two nations in January. Iran's president visited in April and the nations have said they are boosting trade ties and regional cooperation.

Pakistan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar had spoken by phone with Iran's foreign minister in recent days, Baloch said, and had attended an emergency meeting convened by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Saudi Arabia this week where he condemned Israel's actions in the Gaza strip and called for a ceasefire and better access for humanitarian aid.

"He also called for preventing further escalation of violence and tensions," she added.

This week a Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran was charged in the United States in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a US politician or government officials, according to the justice department.

Baloch said Pakistan had contacted US authorities and was waiting for more information. She added Pakistan could not determine any individual's nationality without full details.