Both Iran and Israel should avoid escalating the situation in the Middle East and realize the risk of misjudgments, appeals USA's Foreign Minister Antony Blinken.
No one should escalate this conflict. We have been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners and have also communicated that message directly to Iran. We communicated that message directly to Israel, said Blinken on Tuesday evening.
At the same time, USA's Defense Minister Lloyd Austin emphasized that yesterday's rocket attack against American forces in Iraq will not go unanswered.
Make no mistake, the USA will not tolerate attacks on our personnel in the region, said Austin and underscored that the USA is ready to act with short notice.
He said that an "Iran-backed Shia militia group" carried out the attack, but that the USA is still trying to determine which one.
Iran has threatened retaliation after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran last week, a deed that the regime blames on Israel.
