Shuttling between Israel and Arab states, Blinken has been pushing for a way forward from the bloodshed in Gaza, even as the conflict threatens to spread further to Lebanon, Iraq and Red Sea shipping lanes.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo, Blinken said the region faced two paths, the first of which would see “Israel integrated, with security assurances and commitments from regional countries and as well from the United States, and a Palestinian state — at least a pathway to get to that state.”
“The other path is to continue to see the terrorism, the nihilism, the destruction by Hamas, by the Houthis, by Hezbollah — all backed by Iran,” he said.
“If you pursue the first path… that’s the single best way to isolate, to marginalize Iran and the proxies that are making so much trouble — for us and for pretty much everyone else in the region.” READ MORE
