US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts from the G7 countries on Sunday that an attack by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel could start as early as Monday, three sources briefed on the call told Barak Ravid of Axios.
Blinken convened the conference call to coordinate with close US allies and try to generate last-minute diplomatic pressure on Iran and Hezbollah to minimize their retaliation as much as possible. He stressed that limiting the impact of their strikes is the best chance to prevent all-out war, according to the Axios report.
The sources said Blinken stressed that the US believes Iran and Hezbollah will both retaliate for the eliminations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
But unlike the Iranian attack against Israel on April 13 — in which Iran launched nearly 350 attack drones and missiles toward Israel, and Israel, the US and their allies worked together to intercept most of them — Blinken said it's unclear what form the retaliation will take.
The Secretary of State said the US doesn't know the exact timing of the attacks but stressed it could start as early as the next 24-48 hours — meaning as early as Monday, the sources told Axios.
He also told his counterparts the US is making efforts to break the escalatory cycle by trying to limit the attacks by Iran and Hezbollah as much as possible and then restrain the Israeli response.
Blinken asked the other foreign ministers to apply diplomatic pressure on Iran, Hezbollah and Israel to maintain maximum restraint.
On Friday, the Pentagon announced it would move a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region as part of steps it is taking “to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran's partners and proxies”.
The sources told Axios that Blinken told the G7 foreign ministers in Sunday’s call that the boosting of U.S. forces in the region was for defensive purposes only.
One source who was on the call said Blinken sounded frustrated when he briefed the ministers on recent talks with Israel over a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Blinken said the administration felt it was "close to a breakthrough" before the assassination in Tehran. Now a deal is needed more than ever, Blinken added.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller declined to comment.
Earlier on Sunday, an Israeli official told NBC News that Israel is bracing for a potential multiday attack by Iran and Hezbollah following the elimination of the two senior terrorists.
The official said Israel fears waves of missiles and drones could be fired over several days in response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
“They’ll just try to wear us out,” the official told NBC. Israel National News - Arutz Sheva
