US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said that both Iran and Israel should avoid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
"No one should escalate this conflict. We've been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We communicated that message directly to Israel," Blinken told reporters, according to the AFP news agency.
"Our commitment to Israel's security is ironclad. We will continue to defend Israel against attacks from terrorist groups or their sponsors, just as we'll continue to defend our troops," Blinken stressed.
"But everyone in the region should understand that further attacks only perpetuate conflict, instability, insecurity for everyone," he added.
The Secretary of State, who spoke after talks with the Australian foreign and defense ministers at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, said the United States was working "intensely to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and to prevent a spread of conflict."
"Further attacks only raise the risk of dangerous outcomes that no one can predict and no one can fully control," Blinken said.
His comments come amid preparations for possible Iranian retaliation for the eliminations of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and of Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
Israel took responsibility for Shukr's death, but has not commented on Haniyeh's, though Hamas and Iran were quick to blame Israel.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran began moving missile launchers and conducting military drills over the weekend.
US officials said that such activities could indicate that Iran is preparing to attack Israel in the coming days.
In his comments on Tuesday, Blinken also indicated that negotiations to end the Israel-Gaza war have entered the “final stage”.
“President Biden spoke today to President [Abdel Fattah] Al-Sisi of Egypt and to Emir Tamim of Qatar,” Blinken said.
“As the leaders discussed, the negotiations have now reached a final stage and they agreed on the urgency of bringing this process to closure … It's critical that all parties work to finalize an agreement as soon as possible,” he added.
The US has been pushing a three-phase proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal which Biden outlined in late May.
Biden recently indicated that both Israel and Hamas had agreed to the outline and reiterated his determination to implement the proposal.
Before Haniyeh’s elimination, a US official said that the negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are in their "closing stages".