Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday the US has spent the past 36 hours “coordinating a diplomatic response to seek to prevent escalation” following a retaliatory Iranian attack on Israel this weekend.
“Strength and wisdom need to be different sides of the same coin,” Blinken said in a seemingly implicit call for Israel to exercise restraint in its response. Blinken noted he has been in contact with counterparts in the region “and will continue to do so in the hours and days ahead.”
“We don’t seek escalation but will continue to support the defense of Israel and protect our personnel in the region,” Blinken said in his first public comments about the attack this weekend.
As CNN reported, President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US would not participate in offensive moves against Iran.
But, he added that "what this weekend demonstrated is that Israel did not have to and does not have to defend itself alone when it is the victim of aggression, the victim of an attack."