US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wants to talk about the most important message during his fourth visit to the Middle East in three months.
His main goal on this trip is to make sure that the fighting between Israel and Gaza does not spread to other countries nearby.
He is traveling to many places in southwest Asia like Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. There is a lot of evidence that the tension in the region is getting worse.
The Houthi rebels in Yemen keep firing missiles and drones at civilian ships in the Red Sea. This has caused a lot of ships to stop using the Red Sea.
The US said it will protect the things that are important to them. If the rebels keep causing problems for global trade, the US might have to use its military to stop them. This would worry some important Arab allies of the US.
“We don’t see using the military as a solution,” said the leader of Qatar during a press conference with Mr. Blinken in Doha on Sunday. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said he is very worried that taking such action will make the situation never-ending and create a lot of tension in the whole region.
On Saturday, the group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon shot a lot of rockets at northern Israel as revenge for what seemed to be a bomb attack planned by Israel that killed an important leader of Hamas in Beirut. Israel bombed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon with their airplanes.
Later in the day, Mr. Blinken said that the situation was getting worse and it was a serious problem. He asked Iran and Turkey to use their influence to control Hezbollah.
That might be hard. The Washington Post said American officials are worried that Israel might be planning a big attack on Hezbollah.
“We want to solve things through talking, but if we can’t, we might have to take action,” said Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday.
At the same time, US military bases in Iraq and Syria were attacked by rockets and drones from militants. There are over 3,000 American soldiers in these areas. In the end of October, a drone entered US defenses and hit a building but did not explode, according to a report from Reuters. This avoided potentially causing serious harm to American soldiers.
The US took military action by bombing Baghdad last week and killing Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, who led a militia supported by Iran.
Each of these events could cause problems for the surrounding area. When you look at everything together, it seems like the Middle East is on the edge of a big war.
In Qatar, Mr. Blinken said the US has a plan to make things more stable. This plan depends on ending the fighting between the Israeli military and Gaza. The US wants to work with Arab countries and Israel to create a lasting peace for the Palestinians.
“He said the United States has a plan to make Israel safe and create a country for the Palestinian people. ” “And what I’ve learned from our talks up til now is. ” “Do our partners want to talk about tough things and make difficult choices. ”
That’s the problem. After talking to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, Mr. Blinken said that all the leaders he has talked to seem ready to help make Gaza stable and strong again after the war. However, the US needs to convince Israel to agree.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Friday that they would like to settle things peacefully through discussion, but they are getting close to a point where they might have to take action.
At the same time, militants in Iraq and Syria have attacked US military bases with rockets and drones. There are more than 3,000 American soldiers in these places. In October, a drone got past US defenses and hit a building but didn’t explode, said a Reuters report. This narrowly avoided causing a lot of American injuries.
The US used the military to attack and killed Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, a leader of an Iran-backed militia, in Baghdad last week.
Each of these episodes is a danger to the peace of the area. When you look at everything together, it seems like the Middle East is close to starting a big war.
In Qatar, Mr. Blinken said the US has a plan to deal with the growing problems in the region. The plan relies on ending the Israeli military operation in Gaza and collaborating with Arab nations and Israelis to create a lasting peace for the Palestinians.
“The United States has a plan to make Israel secure and give the Palestinian people their own state,” he said. “And what I got from the talks until now . Can our partners talk about hard things and make tough choices.
That’s the problem. After talking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, Mr. Blinken said that he sees a desire to help make post-war Gaza stable and strong from all the leaders he has talked to. The US needs to convince Israel to agree.
Mr Blinken’s trip to the Middle East might tell us about the plan the US has for its recent diplomacy efforts. He visited Turkey and Arab countries, and then he went to Israel two days later. This helped him to understand the feelings and opinions of the people in the region before meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli War Cabinet.
Now it’s up to Israel to make a decision.
“On Monday, he said he will get to tell Israeli leaders everything he’s learned on this trip. ” “I believe there is a way to bring long-lasting peace and security to Israel in the future. ”
The American hope is that ending the Gaza War will reduce tensions in the region. It is a guess that the small problems in the Red Sea, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria have not gotten worse on their own.
The Qatari prime minister said on Sunday that there can’t be peace in the area without a real and peaceful solution to the Palestinian conflict. Will there be peace if this is decided.
During his trip to the Middle East in November, Mr. Blinken said that countries in the area don’t want war and are trying to stop it from spreading. He said this in Turkey.
The US secretary said that just because something bad did not happen, it doesn’t always show that progress has been made, but it does.
Since then, there has been a lot of evidence that shows the chances of a bigger war happening have gone up, even though Mr. Blinken and the Americans say they don’t want it.