Antony Blinken asks China, others to rein in Iran amid concerns about potential attack on Israel

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked China’s foreign minister and other counterparts to use their influence to dissuade Iran from striking Israel, the State Department said on Thursday. Blinken spoke to counterparts including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan “to make clear that escalation is not in anyone’s interest and that countries should urge Iran not to escalate,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. Blinken also spoke by telephone with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant “to reiterate our strong support for Israel against these threats,” Miller said. Iran’s clerical leadership has vowed to retaliate after an Israeli strike on April 1 levelled an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus, killing seven members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards including two generals. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that the United States has “warned” Iran over its threats to Israel. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that US support for Israel’s security was “ironclad”, despite his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in Gaza. The United States has repeatedly made public appeals for China, seen as its top long-term global rival, to do more to address the Middle East crisis, including through pressure on Iran, which supports Hamas. Beijing in turn has criticised the United States as biased toward Israel. On Thursday, Netanyahu said Israel was preparing for conflict in sectors other than the Gaza Strip, while visiting the Tel Nof airbase to the south of Tel Aviv. “We are in challenging times. We are in the midst of the war in Gaza, which is continuing at full force, even as we are continuing our relentless efforts to return our hostages,” Netanyahu told air force personnel at the base amid rising concerns of a revenge attack by Iran. “However, we are also prepared for scenarios involving challenges in other sectors. We have determined a simple rule: Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively,” he said in remarks translated from Hebrew. During the visit to the base, which operates US-made F-15 combat planes, Netanyahu was briefed by the deputy base commander and the squadron commander on their operations during the war. Also on Thursday, US General Michael Erik Kurilla, the officer commanding US forces in the Middle East, arrived in Israel. Kurilla was in Israel to “discuss the current security threats in the region”, with the country’s IDF leadership, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said. The US has restricted movements of diplomats in Israel over security fears, the embassy said. Iran aims to contain fallout in Israel response, won’t be hasty: sources “Out of an abundance of caution, US government employees and their family members are restricted from personal travel” outside the Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheeva areas “until further notice”, an embassy notice said. “The security environment remains complex and can change quickly depending on the political situation and recent events,” the notice said. Russia, Germany and Britain on Thursday also urged countries in the Middle East to show restraint. The German airline Lufthansa, one of only two Western carriers flying to Tehran, extended a suspension of its flights to the Iranian capital and Russia warned against travel to the Middle East. Lufthansa said it would probably not fly to Tehran before April 13. Austrian Airlines said it was still planning to fly on Thursday but was adjusting timings to avoid crew having to disembark for an overnight layover. Iranian air space is also a key overflight route for Emirates’ and Qatar Airways’ flights to Europe and North America. Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Aeroflot and Air Arabia, among the airlines that fly to Tehran, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian to urge “maximum restraint” to avoid further escalation. Russia’s foreign ministry told citizens they should not travel to the Middle East, especially to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. “Right now it’s very important for everyone to maintain restraint so as not to lead to a complete destabilisation of the situation in the region, which doesn’t exactly shine with stability and predictability,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing. British foreign minister David Cameron said on Thursday he had made clear to Amirabdollahian that Iran should not draw the Middle East into a wider conflict. “I am deeply concerned about the potential for miscalculation leading to further violence,” Cameron said on X, formerly Twitter. Agence France-Presse, Reuters and dpa