Blinken To G7-Iran/Hezbollah Attack On Israel Could Come Monday

Axios reportedovernight that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told fellow G7 foreign ministers that Iran and/or Hezbollah could attack Israel as soon as today (5 Aug) in response to the killing of Hamas political director Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.

• In a conference call, Blinken called for as much diplomatic pressure as possible to be exerted on Iran to stop any retaliation, but that if this proved impossible then he "stressed that limiting the impact of their strikes is the best chance to prevent all-out war."
• Iranian Foreign Ministry spox Hassan Kanaani has said that Tehran is not looking to escalate regional tensions but 'punishing Israel is necessary.' A meeting of foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation takes place on Wednesday 7 August. Kanaani says that creating a deterrence against Israel is a 'regional responsibility'.
• The region remains in a situation of limbo, awaiting an Iranian led-response that appears inevitable but unclear of whether this will be signposted by Tehran or limited enought ot prove non-escalatory, or sizeable enough to risk a conflagration between Hezbollah and Israel or indeed Israel and Iran.