White House stays silent after Blinken says US not concerned in Israeli strike on Iran | EUROtoday

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The White House is staying silent on Israel’s latest retaliatory assault on Iran regardless of statements from America’s prime diplomat denying any US involvement.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Friday opened her day by day press briefing with a preemptive refusal to touch upon the incident, which Iranian officers have largely appeared to have shrugged off.

“I know there’s a lot a lot of interest in reports from the Middle East overnight, and we understand that. I’m going to say it now, though: I know you all will certainly ask me about it, that we do not have any comment on the reports at this time,” she stated.

Ms Jean-Pierre wouldn’t even provide a solution as to why she was left unable to remark.

The White House’s relative silence stood in stark distinction from the relative openness it exhibited earlier within the week, when a trio of prime defence officers have been made obtainable to transient reporters about American involvement within the profitable defence Israel had launched towards the greater than 300 separate munitions launched its approach by Iran.

In the wake of that defensive success, which reportedly noticed 99 per cent of the Iranian rockets and drones shot down, President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “take the win” and requested him not escalate additional.

Ms Jean-Pierre’s reluctance to deal with the topic of the Israeli strike got here simply hours after Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated the US performed no position in an Israeli drone strike on Iran that was retaliation for final week’s Iranian strike on Israel.

Speaking at a information convention in Capri throughout a Group of Seven (G7) ministerial assembly, Mr Blinken repeatedly declined to reply questions concerning the Israeli strike.

Instead, he repeated an announcement indicating that the US was not concerned.

“I’m not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations,”  he stated.

“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, to de-escalate from any potential conflicts,” he added.

The Israeli authorities has not, up to now, made any public assertion about what seemed to be a retaliatory strike on the Iranian metropolis of Isfahan early Friday morning. The metropolis hosts considered one of Iran’s main nuclear websites, however the International Atomic Energy Agency has stated there was no harm to any a part of any nuclear facility.

In Tehran, Iranian state media appeared to downplay the importance of the incident whereas indicating that the Iranian authorities received’t reply in type.

Speaking on the identical press convention alongside Mr Blinken, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated the United States offered the data at a Friday morning session that was modified on the final minute to deal with the suspected assault.

Mr Tajani, who chaired the G7 ministerial assembly which happened forward of this summer season’s Group of Seven leaders’ summit, stated Mr Blinken had instructed his colleagues that the US had been “informed at the last minute” by Israel concerning the drones.

“But there was no sharing of the attack by the US. It was a mere information,” he added.

With extra reporting by companies