U.S. warns all parties against escalation in the Middle East
Updates throughout with Miller comments, background, Austin trip
By Daphne Psaledakis and Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) -The United States on Thursday warned all parties in the Middle East against escalation as tensions between Iran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah and Israel remained high, saying Washington's priority is to find a diplomatic solution.
"We will continue to stand by Israel's right to defend itself, but we don't want to see any party escalate this conflict, period," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a regular briefing.
The Middle East is on edge after deadly attacks that blew up radios and pagers of militant group Lebanon-based Hezbollah, killing 37 people and wounding around 3,000 and overwhelming Lebanese hospitals and wreaking bloody havoc on the group.
While calling for calm, Miller acknowledged the limits of U.S. diplomacy.
"We have been engaged in the region for some time, and of course, since October 7th we have been engaged to try to bring down tensions. But ultimately, yes, every country is responsible, and every entity is responsible for the actions that they take."
A source familiar with the matter said U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has postponed a trip to Israel planned for next week. Miller declined to comment on Austin's schedule but said Washington will continue talks with Israel.
"I will say that we continue to engage with our Israeli counterparts on this. As publicly reported, Amos Hochstein was just in Israel on Monday, pressing the need for deescalation, pressing the need for a diplomatic resolution," Miller said.
White House Special envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel this week to discuss the crisis on the northern border where Israeli troops have been exchanging missile fire with Hezbollah forces for months.
Lebanon and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for the device explosions, which Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah said "crossed all red lines". Security sources say the attacks were probably carried out by Israel's Mossad spy agency, which has a long history of carrying out sophisticated attacks on foreign soil.
Israel has not directly commented on the attacks.
Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk and Anthony Esposito; Editing by Mark Porter and Cynthia Osterman
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
