US not involved in any operations, Blinken says, after US officials say Israel strikes Iran (2024)

The United States has not been involved in any offensive operations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, after a US official told CNN that Israel had launched a strike on Iran.

"What we're focused on, what the G7 is focused on, and again, it's reflected in our statement and in our conversation, is our work to de-escalate tensions," Blinken said.

The US was given advance notification Thursday of an intended Israeli strike in the coming days but did not endorse the response, a second senior US official previously said.

As Israel struck Iran overnight in what appeared to be a limited retaliation for last weekend's attack, the White House adopted a tightlipped approach that reflected US officials' desire to keep a level of distance from the decision.

American officials, who said they did receive warning from Israel of their plans, neither endorsed nor condemned the counterstrike.

Instead, they sought to make clear the choice was Israel's alone.

Even though US President Joe Biden advised restraint in a recent phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – suggesting that a counterattack may not be necessary because of the successful interception of Iran's missiles and drones - few within the White House believed Israel would do nothing. Officials had asked Israel for advance warning of the plans.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the G7 countries were "committed to de-escalating" tensions between Israel and Iran.

"We’re committed to Israel’s security. We’re also committed to de-escalating -- to trying to bring this tension to a close," Blinken said during a news conference at the conclusion of the group's meeting in Capri, Italy, hours after a US official told CNN that Israel had launched a military strike on Iran.

He also said the countries shared "a commitment to hold Iran to account."

Blinken said the nations condemned Iran's weekend strikes on Israel. He called those attacks "unprecedented in scope and scale; scope because it was a direct attack on Israel from Iran, scale because it involved more than 300 munitions including ballistic missiles."

Israeli soldiers who fail to protect Palestinians from settler violence or take part in such attacks face disciplinary action, the Israeli military told CNN on Friday, in response to a critical report from an international NGO.

The Israel DefenseForces(IDF) comments came after Human Rights Watch accused the IDF of failing to protect Palestinians in the occupied West Bank from violent attacks by settlers since October7and on some occasions taking part in those attacks.

HRW said in its report that such attacks have displaced Palestinians from 20 communities and entirely uprooted at least seven communities.

The IDF said that its mission was to “maintain the security of all residents of thearea,and to act to prevent terrorism and activities that endanger the citizens of the State of Israel.”

If Israeli citizens break the law, the Israeli police are responsible for arresting and charging them, the IDF said.

The IDF conceded that its troops had witnessed some Israelis attacking Palestinians.

Russia has urged "restraint" after Israel launched a military strike on Iran, a country with which the Kremlin has a close strategic partnership.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a call with journalists Friday that Russia is "studying" details of the attack, and that it would be “premature to comment" until its nature becomes clear.

But Peskov added: “In any case, no matter what, we continue to advocate restraint on the part of the parties and refusal of actions that could provoke a further escalation of tension in such a difficultregion."

Russia has relied on Iranian weapons during its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, frequently targeting Ukrainian cities with Iranian-made Shahed drones.

The two nations have a close partnership; Moscow has for years purchased drones and ballistic missiles from Iran, while providing Tehran with investment and trade.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has criticized far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for an "unforgivable tweet" that has been interpreted as ridiculing the military strike in Iran.

Ben Gvir published a one-word post on X, consisting only of a slang word meaning “lame” or "weak," just hours after explosions were heard in Iran on Friday.

Israel had carried out a military strike on Iran, a US official told CNN. Israel has not commented and Iran has not identified the source of the attack.

Neither politician explicitly said that their comments referred to the attack on Iran.

Ben Gvir had previously said Israel should "go crazy" in its response to last weekend’s Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel.

Former prime minister Lapid said that Ben Gvir had "managed to mock and shame Israel from TehrantoWashington."

Ben Gvir's fellow hardline right-wing minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday had said that Israel's response to Iran's attack should inflict a "disproportionate toll" and "rock Tehran" to deter Iran from future strikes.

The finance minister said Israel "should rock Tehran, so everyone there will realize they shouldn't mess with us."

The UK'sPrime Minister Rishi Sunak said he wants to see“calm heads prevail”in the Middle East.

“Significant escalation is not inanyone’sinterest,”Sunak said at a press conference in London on Friday.

Israel carried out a military strike on Iran on Friday, a US official told CNN. Israel has not commented and Iran has not identified the source of the strike.

The British prime minister said that the UK is working with its allies to confirm the details oftheattack.

Sunak repeated his condemnation ofIran’s"barrage of missiles against Israel on Saturday"and reiteratedIsrael’sright to self-defense.

Iran’s army commander-in-chief said the explosions in the sky above the province of Isfahan were related to anti-aircraft systems shooting at what he called a suspicious object that did not cause any damage, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.

The commander-in-chief's comments align with an earlier report from Iran's Tasnim news agency, which quoted senior military commander Second Brigadier General Mihandoust in Isfahan saying there was no "damage or incident" following the explosion in that area.

The senior commander also said the blast heard were caused by "air defense firing at a suspicious object."

China spoke out against any escalation of tensions in the Middle East after Iran was targeted in an aerial attack.

Some context: Israel carried out Friday's attack, a US official told CNN. Israelhas not commented, and Iran has not identified the source of the attack.