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Top US Diplomat Heads Back to Middle East Amid Regional Escalation Fears
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media prior to departure from Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, on Dec. 1, 2023. Photo: SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS
US top diplomat Antony Blinken will return to the Middle East on Thursday, continuing the Biden administration’s intense diplomacy over Israel‘s three-month long conflict with Hamas, as fears of a broader regional conflagration grow.
The US secretary of state’s weeklong trip — his fourth to the region since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel sparked a massive Israeli air and ground assault — will include visits to Israel and the West Bank, as well as Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. He also will make stops in Turkey and Greece.
Blinken will repeat his calls to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza while attempting to make progress on the sensitive subject of how the Gaza Strip could be managed after the war, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.
Blinken travels with concerns of regional escalation in the spotlight. After a drone strike on Tuesday killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in the Lebanese capital Beirut, the leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has exchanged fire with Israel from southern Lebanon, said his powerful Shi’ite terror group “cannot be silent.”
The US military on Thursday carried out a retaliatory strike in Baghdad that killed a leader of a separate Iran-backed militia it blames for recent attacks on US personnel, a US official told Reuters.
The conflict has also crept into vital Red Sea shipping lanes. The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have launched drones and missiles at more than 20 ships since Nov. 19.
“It is in no one’s interest, not Israel‘s, not the region’s, not the world’s, for this conflict to spread beyond Gaza,” Miller said, adding that Blinken would discuss unspecified steps the parties can take to avoid escalation.
In response to Hamas’ cross-border assault in which Palestinian terrorists killed 1,200 people and abducted some 240, Israel unleashed a ground and air blitz in Gaza to incapacitate the terror group, which rules the neighboring Palestinian enclave.
Visits to NATO allies Turkey and Greece are also on Blinken’s agenda. Turkey is expected to soon approve Sweden’s NATO membership, but its lengthy deliberation has frustrated Turkey’s Western allies, including US lawmakers who are holding up the sale of F-16 fighter jets until Ankara signs off on the addition to the alliance.
FUTURE OF GAZA
Blinken is expected to revive US appeals to Israeli leaders to reduce the impact of its operation in Gaza on civilians. As on previous trips, Blinken will also try to begin discussions on how Gaza will be run if and when Israel achieves its goal of eradicating Hamas, which has run the strip since 2007.
“We will discuss the need for combined governance that unites … the West Bank and Gaza under Palestinian leadership, but what the specifics look like I will keep for private diplomatic conversations,” Miller said.
Israel’s Arab neighbors have pushed back, insisting that securing a ceasefire should be the priority.
US officials have backed Israel in its rejection of genocide charges made at the International Criminal Court by South Africa, while pressing Israel to do more to protect civilians.
Washington this week criticized two Israeli ministers for advocating resettling Palestinians outside Gaza, saying Israel had assured US officials the statements do not reflect policy.
Miller acknowledged the challenges facing Blinken. “We don’t expect every conversation on this trip to be easy,” he said.
The post Top US Diplomat Heads Back to Middle East Amid Regional Escalation Fears first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Lebanon Says It Is Beginning Disarmament of Palestinian Factions in Refugee Camps
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanon said on Thursday it was launching the planned disarmament of Palestinian factions in refugee camps, part of a wider effort to establish a state monopoly on arms.
The planned disarmament was starting with the handover of weapons on Thursday from the Burj al-Barajneh camp in Beirut to the Lebanese army, the Lebanese prime minister’s office said.
The move is meant to mark the start of a broader disarmament effort, with additional deliveries expected in the coming weeks from Burj al-Barajneh and other camps across the country, the office said in a statement.
An official from Fatah told Reuters that the only weapons being handed over so far were illegal arms that entered the camp 24 hours ago. TV footage showed army vehicles entering the camp ahead of a handover. Reuters could not independently verify what arms were being handed over.
As part of a truce with Israel struck in November and backed by the United States, Lebanon committed to restricting arms to six specific state security forces, in a challenge to Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim terror group Hezbollah.
The cabinet has tasked the army with drawing up a plan to establish a state monopoly on arms by the end of the year.
The initiative to disarm Palestinian factions is part of an agreement reached during a May 21 summit between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, which affirmed Lebanon‘s sovereignty and the principle that only the state should bear arms, the statement from the prime minister’s office said.
Two days later, Lebanese and Palestinian officials agreed on a timeline and mechanism for disarmament, the statement said.
Palestinian factions have long operated with relative autonomy in several of Lebanon‘s 12 refugee camps, which fall largely outside the jurisdiction of the Lebanese state. The latest handover represents the most serious bid in years to address weapons held inside the camps.
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Netanyahu Escalates Attack on Australia’s Albanese as Jewish Group Urges Calm
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday stepped up his personal attacks on Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese over his government’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state, saying Albanese‘s political record had been damaged forever.
Diplomatic ties between Australia and Israel have soured since Albanese‘s center-left Labor government last week announced it would conditionally recognize Palestinian statehood, following similar moves by France, Britain, and Canada.
The decision prompted Netanyahu to launch a personal attack on Albanese, and he doubled down on his condemnation in an interview to be broadcast on Sky News Australia.
“I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of this Hamas terrorist monsters,” Netanyahu said, after describing Albanese earlier this week as “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”
Sky News Australia released the comments ahead of the broadcast of the full interview on Thursday at 8 pm (1000 GMT).
Albanese on Wednesday played down Netanyahu‘s criticisms, saying he did not “take these things personally” and that he treated the leaders of other countries with respect.
Last week, Albanese said the Israeli prime minister was “in denial” about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Israel has been waging a military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry in separate letters sent on Wednesday to both leaders urged them to discuss differences through diplomacy rather than public posturing.
“We write to express our deep dismay and concern at the recent ‘war of words,’” the letters said.
“If things need to be said publicly, they should be said using measured and seemly language befitting national leaders. Australia and Israel are mature democracies, and their governments need to act accordingly,” the council said.
Israel this week revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority after Albanese‘s government canceled the visa of an Israeli lawmaker over remarks it considered controversial and inflammatory.
Israel’s military announced the first steps of an operation to take control of Gaza City on Wednesday, calling up tens of thousands of reservists despite many of Israel’s closest allies calling for it to reconsider.
The offensive began after Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 more hostage. Israel is currently considering a new ceasefire proposal.
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Iran Holds Military Drills After Big Losses in War With Israel
An Iranian missile is launched during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in Iran, Aug. 20, 2025. Photo: Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran on Thursday launched its first solo military exercises since its June war with Israel, state media reported, seeking to reassert an image of strength after suffering heavy losses.
Navy units of Iran‘s regular armed forces fired missiles and drones at open water targets in the Indian Ocean under the “Sustainable Power 1404” drill, state television reported.
“These drills take place around a month after the Iran-Russia drill under the name Casarex 2025 which took place in Iran‘s northern waters [Caspian Sea]. The Sustainable Power drills … are in Iran‘s southern waters,” state TV said.
Israel attacked Iran in a 12-day air war which the United States briefly joined, pounding key nuclear installations and killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists.
Israel largely destroyed Iran‘s air defenses during the war and much of its stockpile of ballistic weapons is believed to have been damaged by Israeli strikes.
Since then, the Islamic Republic has said it is ready to counter any future attacks.
“Any new adventure by the enemy will be faced with a strong slap,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to strike Iran again if it revives nuclear facilities including uranium enrichment plants.
Tehran suspended negotiations with Washington aimed at curbing the country’s nuclear ambitions after the Israeli and US airstrikes. Iran denies any intent to develop atomic bombs.
Iran believes the moment for “effective” nuclear talks with the US has not yet arrived, its top diplomat said on Wednesday, though Tehran would not completely cut off cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.