NEW YORK – The Middle East is at a “precarious” crossroads, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Washington on Friday as he called for diplomacy after Israel targeted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, whose death marks a critical change for Lebanon and Israel.
“The choices that all parties make in the coming days will determine which path this region is on, with profound consequences for its people now and possibly for years to come,” Blinken said.
A military option “leads to conflict, more conflict, more violence, more suffering, and greater instability and insecurity, the ripples of which will be felt around the world,” the secretary of state stressed.
“The path to diplomacy may seem difficult to see at this moment, but it is there – and in our judgment, it is necessary – and we will continue to work intensely with all parties to urge them to choose that course,” he said.
The secretary of state also warned Israel’s enemies not to use the regional instability to attack American targets.
“I want to be clear,” Blinken said: “Anyone using this moment to target American personnel [or] American interests in the region... [should know that] the United States will take every measure to defend our people.”
Blinken subtly criticized Israel for the strike, which came just two days after US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron issued a call for a 21-day lull to the yearlong constrained IDF-Hezbollah war.
The IDF significantly ratcheted up its military campaign in the last two weeks, targeting Hezbollah leaders and figures in a renewed effort to push the Iranian proxy group away from the border area in southern Lebanon.
Blinken, together with the Biden administration, has supported Israel’s overall goals but has differed from it on its methods, particularly regarding the heavy emphasis on military solutions in the aftermath of Hamas’s attack on the South last year.
Blinken reaffirms Israel's right to defend itself
“Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorism,” Blinken said – stressing, however, that “the way it does so matters.”
One reporter quizzed Blinken as to whether targeted assassinations fell under the rubric of legitimate Israeli self-defense.
“On the events of the last hours, we are still gathering information, making sure that we fully understand what happened, what the intent was – and until we have that information, I can’t address in detail our response to it,” he answered.
Overall, he said, both with respect to Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the “objective has been to try to prevent the war from spreading as well as escalating.”
Blinken acknowledged that both Hamas and Hezbollah wanted to annihilate Israel, so the goal was to ensure that both of Israel’s borders were safe.
Concerning Israel’s northern border, the secretary of state said that it is not enough for Israel and Hezbollah to hold their fire – Hezbollah must be moved away from the border.
Diplomacy would have to proceed in stages, but the idea is to stop the violence and then seek a diplomatic resolution, Blinken noted.