Blinken: US Not in Offensive Ops

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken clarified on Friday that the United States had not participated in any offensive operations, following claims that Israel had conducted retaliatory strikes on Iran. Speaking at a press conference on the island of Capri, Blinken emphasized that the U.S. and other G7 nations are primarily focused on de-escalating the situation, refraining from commenting directly on the reports of the strikes.

During a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, which was suddenly rearranged to discuss these developments, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the host of the meeting, disclosed that the U.S. had unexpectedly received information about an Israeli drone operation in Iran. Tajani pointed out that while the U.S. was made aware of the action, there was no active participation or prior knowledge of the attack plan by the U.S., stating that the information was only shared with them at the last moment.