US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has delayed his trip to the Middle East and will not travel to the region on Tuesday night as planned due to the uncertainty about the situation, Barak Ravid of Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the plans.
Ravid reported earlier that Biden's top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, arrived in Cairo on Tuesday. A source with knowledge of his trip said he will continue from there to Doha.
In addition, US envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to Lebanon and will hold talks in Beirut on Wednesday on de-escalation with Israel.
Ravid reported on Monday that Blinken was planning to visit Qatar, Egypt and Israel during the visit, but also noted the trip is not final because Blinken is waiting to see if Iran attacks Israel or not, in retaliation for the elimination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Whenever the trip does go ahead, it would be the Secretary of State’s ninth visit to Israel since Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7. Blinken most recently visited Israel in early June.
Earlier on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said that he expects Iran to back down from its threats to attack Israel if a ceasefire deal with Hamas is reached this week.
“That’s my expectation,” Biden told reporters when asked if he believes Iran will not strike if a deal is signed.
On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the IDF has been placed on high alert after Hezbollah and Iranian forces were observed preparing for an attack against Israel.
On Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and told him the Iranian military preparations suggest Iran is getting ready for a large-scale attack.