Blinken embarking on high-stakes Middle East trip as tensions boil

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is departing Thursday evening for the Middle East with an intensive diplomatic agenda as tensions have spiked surrounding Israel’s war against Hamas.

The assassination in Lebanon of a top Hamas leader on Tuesday, a terrorist attack in Iran on Wednesday and attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea have put the region on heightened alert over the potential breakout of a wider conflict.

Blinken’s stops include Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt and a visit with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

The secretary’s itinerary highlights the main players the U.S. is relying on to exert influence and help lower the temperature in the region.

“It is in no one’s interest, not Israel’s, not the regions, not the worlds, for this conflict to spread beyond Gaza,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Wednesday.

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The secretary’s trip will focus on Israel’s war against Hamas, protection of civilian lives in the conflict zone, increasing humanitarian delivery to Palestinians in Gaza and efforts to secure the return of more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas.

It will mark the fourth time Blinken has visited the Middle East and the fifth time he’s been in Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack that triggered the retaliation in the Gaza Strip.

Miller said that the secretary will discuss with partners immediate measures to increase “substantially” humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the delivery of commercial goods. Blinken will discuss with Israeli officials the ongoing military campaign against Hamas, and “steps to the next phase of operations,” to include allowing Palestinians in Gaza to return to their homes and neighborhoods. 

The Biden administration has staked out a position as Israel’s strongest ally as it prosecutes its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip amid international pressure to implement a cease-fire, even as the U.S. has raised concerns about the high death toll for Palestinians in Gaza and tensions in the West Bank. 

Countries such as Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are playing different roles in working as mediators with Hamas or exercising influence with other players, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, or Iran and Iranian-backed proxies, such as the Houthis in Yemen, who have engaged in back-and-forth strikes with Israel and the U.S. but have not escalated by engaging in a full-fledged war. 

In Turkey, Blinken will discuss efforts for the Turkish government to complete ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO and will hold discussions in Greece about support for Ukraine and protecting regional maritime security. 

“We don’t expect every conversation on this trip to be easy. There are obviously tough issues facing the region and difficult choices ahead,” Miller said.