“All parties in the Middle East must move away from the cycle of retaliation to reduce tensions and engage in constructive dialogue,” the G7 foreign ministers said in a statement.
The G7 foreign ministers expressed their “deep concern over the growing tension in the Middle East, which threatens to ignite a larger conflict in the region.”
The statement stressed that “no country or nation will benefit from further escalation in the Middle East.”
The United States is bracing for Iran to fulfill its pledge to respond to Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran, the latest in a series of killings of senior figures in the Palestinian militant group as the war between Israel and Hamas intensifies in Gaza.
The Pentagon said it would deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the Middle East, as Washington seeks to bolster defenses in the wake of threats of retaliation from Iran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday that the United States had urged some countries through its diplomatic contacts to inform Iran that escalation in the Middle East is not in its interest.
Miller told a news briefing that this was a “critical moment” for the region and that Secretary of State Antony Blinken was making phone calls to help calm tensions, but he also said Washington was preparing for all eventualities.
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