The United States’ Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken, began a Middle East trip on Monday that is meant to prevent a broader war in the region, and to rally allies around a proposal to release hostages held in Gaza and pause the fighting there.
His visit is even as the President Joe Biden’s administration pursues retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militias that have targeted U.S. troops.
Blinken began in his fifth trip to the region since the October 7 attacks on Israel with a meeting in Saudi Arabia with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in which they discussed achieving “an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza” as well as the need to reduce tensions across the region, according to a State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller.
The secretary of state will also hold meetings with leaders in Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank — all key players in negotiations over a potential pause in the fighting in Gaza.
The Biden administration and its Arab allies are still awaiting a response from Hamas to a framework for a deal that would involve the exchange of more than 100 Israeli hostages held in Gaza for a pause in fighting and the release of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.
According to New York Times, a U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to detail the diplomatic efforts, said Blinken would tell American allies in the region that the Biden administration’s recent strikes against Iran-backed militias should not be interpreted as an escalation of fighting in the Middle East.
American and British warplanes, with support from allies, have carried out a series of airstrikes against the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen in an effort to deter the group from attacking ships in the Red Sea.
Miller said Blinken and the crown prince discussed the “urgent need to reduce regional tensions,” citing the Houthi attacks from Yemen that are undermining freedom of navigation.
The U.S. has also conducted dozens of military strikes in recent days on targets in Iraq and Syria, in retaliation for the killing of three U.S. service members at a base near the Syrian border in Jordan.
Those strikes prompted Russia to call for an “urgent” meeting of the United Nations Security Council, which was scheduled to convene on Monday afternoon. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, accused the United States on Saturday of further escalating conflict in the Middle East, saying the strikes demonstrated the “aggressive nature of U.S. policy” in the region.
In his conversation with Prince Mohammed, Mr. Blinken stressed the importance of addressing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Mr. Miller said. More than 27,000 Palestinians have been killed there since Oct. 7, according to the Gazan health ministry, and nearly two million people have been displaced by the fighting.
Blinken was expected to convey American concerns about the civilian death toll in Gaza when he visits Israel on this trip.
Blinken will also discuss what diplomats call the “day-after” plans for governing Gaza after the fighting ends, including a possible role for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Biden administration is also hoping to make progress toward getting Saudi Arabia to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, a long-term objective that the United States sees as important to stabilizing the Middle East. Under a proposed deal, the United States would offer Saudi Arabia a defense treaty, help with a civilian nuclear program and increase arms sales, while the Saudis and Americans would, in theory, get Israel to accept conditions for concrete steps toward the creation of a Palestinian state in return for Saudi recognition.
Miller’s account of the meeting between Blinken and Prince Mohammed did not contain any specific references to such efforts, but said the two had discussed “building a more integrated and prosperous region and reaffirmed the strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia.”