US Sends Message Warning Iran Not to Escalate Conflict in Middle East

Tensions have escalated between Hezbollah and Israel in recent days.

The United States urged Iran through diplomatic channels not to escalate tensions in the Middle East, warning that doing so would go against Tehran’s interests, according to the U.S. Department of State.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 31, in an attack that drew threats of revenge against Israel and fueled further concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war. Iran is believed to back Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group that has been involved in the Gaza conflict since it attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Tensions have sharply risen between Hezbollah, a terrorist organization that U.S. officials say is backed by Iran, and Israel. Hezbollah leaders have said they plan to retaliate against Israel after its military launched a strike in Beirut on July 30, killing a top Hezbollah commander. The strike was made after the terrorist group was blamed for a rocket attack that left about a dozen civilians dead in the Golan Heights.

Matthew Miller, spokesman for the State Department, said at an Aug. 5 news conference that the United States has urged other nations “to pass messages to Iran and urge countries to make clear to Iran that it is very much not in their interests to escalate this conflict, that it is very much not in their interests to launch another attack on Israel,” according to a transcript of his remarks.

Miller did not say definitively whether or not Washington’s messages have been disseminated to Iran or through which channel. The United States and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1980, coming after the Iranian takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.

“I would expect that some of them would pass that message along and impress that point upon the government of Iran,” Miller added.

Also on Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was “engaged in intense diplomacy, pretty much around the clock” to help calm tensions in the region amid concerns that the conflict may spill over to other countries.

“All parties must refrain from escalation,” Blinken said during a signing ceremony with his Australian counterpart in Washington. “All parties must take steps to ease tensions. Escalation is not in anyone’s interests. It will only lead to more conflict, more violence, more insecurity.”

Over the past weekend, the U.S. Embassy and the foreign ministries of the UK, France, and several other nations warned their citizens to immediately leave Lebanon. U.S. citizens were urged to leave on “any ticket” available out of the country, the Embassy has said.

Blinken in his remarks also called for parties to “break this cycle” of violence and agree on a Gaza cease-fire.

“What it comes down to really is all parties finding ways to come to an agreement, not look for reasons to delay or to say no,” Blinken said. “It is urgent that all parties make the right choices in the hours and days ahead.”

In the meantime, the Pentagon confirmed in a statement that it will send more U.S. military assets to the region to shore up its defense of Israel. While stressing that the move is purely defensive, spokesperson Sabrina Singh did not elaborate on the future deployment.

On Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in Tehran that Iran will deliver “a response” to Israel but is “in no way seeking to expand the scope of war and crisis in the region,” according to state-run media. He delivered those remarks during a meeting with Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Sergei Shoigu, a former Russian defense minister.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said in early August that the conflict with Israel has entered a “new phase” following the strike in Beirut, warning, “The response will come, whether spread out or simultaneously.”

“There is no discussion on this point. The only things lying between us and you are the days, the nights and the battlefield,” Nasrallah said in reference to Israel.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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