Blinken to G7: Iran, Hezbollah Could Start Attacking Israel as Early as Monday

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)
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Blinken to G7: Iran, Hezbollah Could Start Attacking Israel as Early as Monday

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts from the G7 countries that Iran and Hezbollah could start attacking Israel as early as Monday, US news service Axios reported.

But Blinken, according to Axios, which cited three sources briefed on the call, said it was unclear how Iran and Hezbollah would attack and did not know the exact timing.

There are mounting fears that Israel's war against Palestinian militants in Gaza could escalate into a wider Middle East conflict.

Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, and they, together with Hezbollah, have vowed revenge.

An Israeli strike in Beirut has also killed Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah military commander.

When asked about the Axios report, the State Department referred to a readout of the call, where it said the ministers discussed "the urgent need for de-escalation in the Middle East."

The Pentagon said on Friday it would deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the region.

"The overall goal is to turn the temperature down in the region, deter and defend against those attacks, and avoid regional conflict," Jonathan Finer, the White House's deputy national security adviser, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" program.

The US and Israel are preparing for every possibility, Finer added.
There was a "very close call" of regional conflagration in April, Finer said, when Iran launched an attack on Israeli territory with drones and missiles after what it called an Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Syrian capital.



Lavrentyev in Türkiye to Discuss Progress in ‘Normalization’ of Ties with Syria

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz held discussions with Lavrentyev at the Turkish Foreign Ministry headquarters on Saturday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry - “X”)
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz held discussions with Lavrentyev at the Turkish Foreign Ministry headquarters on Saturday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry - “X”)
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Lavrentyev in Türkiye to Discuss Progress in ‘Normalization’ of Ties with Syria

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz held discussions with Lavrentyev at the Turkish Foreign Ministry headquarters on Saturday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry - “X”)
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz held discussions with Lavrentyev at the Turkish Foreign Ministry headquarters on Saturday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry - “X”)

Russia continues its endeavors as part of an initiative to facilitate rapprochement between Türkiye and Syria and to restore normal relations between the two.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, visited Ankara to conduct consultations on the Syrian file.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz met with Lavrenyev on Saturday at the ministry’s headquarters in Ankara, in the presence of the relevant bodies concerned with the Syrian file in the two countries.
The Russian official had previously visited Damascus on June 26, and held discussions with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over moves aimed at restoring normal relations with Ankara.
Assad expressed his readiness to respond to the initiatives proposed in this regard within the framework of Syria’s sovereignty.
Lavrentyev’s discussions with Ankara came a day after the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense, announced the completion of the construction of a new Russian-Syrian military base in Ayn al-Arab (Kobani).
On Friday, the Russian TASS news agency quoted the director of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, Navy Colonel Oleg Ignasyuk, as saying that measures are ongoing to monitor the cessation of combat operations between the warring parties. He was referring to the Sochi Understanding signed between Ankara and Moscow on Oct. 22, 2019.
According to the understanding, Turkish and Russian forces conducted joint patrols in areas controlled by the SDF in northern Syria, including Ayn al-Arab.
Turkish Political Analyst Namik Durukan considered the establishment of the Russian base in Ain al-Arab as a remarkable step before an agreement is reached to hold a meeting between the Turkish and Syrian presidents, under Russian sponsorship.