Global Pressure Mounts to Avert Iran-Israel Clash

AFP/APP

Jerusalem: Diplomatic efforts are intensifying to prevent an escalation between Iran and Israel following high-profile killings that have heightened regional tensions. Governments are also advising their citizens to leave Lebanon as a precaution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated late Sunday that Israel is “determined to stand against” Iran “on all fronts.” In response, Tehran asserted that it has “the legal right to punish the Zionist regime” for the killing of Haniyeh.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a conference call with G7 counterparts on Sunday, indicated that an attack could occur within 24 to 48 hours, possibly as soon as Monday, according to US news site Axios.

Blinken urged the G7 nations to apply diplomatic pressure on Tehran, Hezbollah, and Israel to “maintain maximum restraint.”

United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk also called on “all parties, along with influential states, to act urgently to de-escalate this very precarious situation.”