Secretary Blinken’s intensive Middle East tour amid rising tensions

US Secretary of State - Antony Blinken | Credits: AP
US Secretary of State - Antony Blinken | Credits: AP

United States: Secretary of State Antony Blinken will go to the Middle East for the fourth time this weekend since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted in October, as previously suppressed worries of a regional conflagration resurface with bombings and assassinations in the Red Sea, Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq.

In the immediate wake of Israel’s military response to the fatal October 7 Hamas attacks, when it advised Israeli officials not to launch pre-emptive strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Biden administration breathed a sigh of relief about the possibility of a wider Mideast war, as reported by Reuters.

Blinken’s Itinerary

However, two and a half months later, the likelihood of a regional war has increased, with Israel determined to strike Hamas operatives and leaders wherever they are, and Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and pro-Iran militias stepping up attacks on US, Israeli, and international interests in the Red Sea, Iraq, and Syria, the reports by Reuters mentioned.

Blinken will visit Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank, and Egypt, as per the State Department. His latest extended Mideast tour begins late Thursday.

US Secretary of State – Antony Blinken lands in the Middle East | Credits: AFP

“We don’t expect every conversation on this trip to be easy. There are obviously tough issues facing the region and difficult choices ahead,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. “But the secretary believes it is the responsibility of the United States of America to lead diplomatic efforts to tackle those challenges head-on, and he’s prepared to do that in the days to come.”

Key Focus Areas

Blinken will focus on boosting humanitarian aid to Gaza, pressuring Israel to reduce civilian Palestinian casualties, releasing Hamas hostages, and emphasizing the significance of preparation for the post-war Gaza government.

US Military Posture

Recent events, however, will crowd his agenda, including a drone strike attributed to Israel that killed a senior Hamas leader in Beirut, explosions in Iran that targeted a memorial service for US-assassinated Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Suleimani, a drone attack on a pro-Iranian Iraqi militia group in Baghdad, and US and allied responses to Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

After dispatching two aircraft carrier strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean in mid-October, ostensibly to dissuade a Hezbollah response to Israel’s operations in Gaza, the US is now focusing on deterring strikes in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis, according to the report by Reuters.

US Military | Credits: AP Photo

Simultaneously, it has warned Iraqi militias that attacks on US troops or bases in Iraq and Syria will not be tolerated.