Blinken says US not involved in 'any offensive operations' when asked about Iran

The Star

At a press conference at the end of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Italy on Friday (April 19), US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was committed to Israel's security, adding that the US had not been involved in any offensive operation when asked about Israel's reported Friday morning strikes on Iran.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00 "Many parts of the world are indivisible.

00:03 They're deeply connected.

00:04 And this is something, again, that we've learned."

00:07 "The United States has not been involved in any offensive operations.

00:11 What we're focused on, what the G7 is focused on, and again it's reflected in our statement

00:16 and in our conversation, is our work to de-escalate tensions, to de-escalate from any potential

00:24 conflict.

00:25 You saw Israel on the receiving end of an unprecedented attack, but our focus has been

00:31 on of course making sure that Israel can effectively defend itself, but also de-escalating tensions,

00:38 avoiding conflict.

00:40 And that remains our focus.

00:42 First, the G7 condemned the unprecedented Iranian attack on Israel, unprecedented in

00:50 scope and scale.

00:52 Scope because it was a direct attack on Israel from Iran, scale because it involved more

00:56 than 300 munitions, including ballistic missiles.

01:00 We're committed to Israel's security.

01:02 We're also committed to de-escalating, to trying to bring this tension to a close.

01:11 You saw as well, or you'll see soon in the G7 statement, a commitment to hold Iran to

01:17 account, to account for its destabilizing activities, holding it to account by degrading

01:24 its missile and drone capabilities.

01:27 And yesterday, the United States announced additional sanctions on Iran, targeting UAV

01:33 programs, the steel industry, companies that are associated with the IRGC, the Ministry

01:38 of Defense, and its armed forces logistics.

01:41 The G7 statement makes clear that G7 countries will adopt additional sanctions or other measures

01:48 in the days ahead.

01:49 Even as we've been dealing with the conflict in the Middle East and, again, the unprecedented

01:54 attack by Iran on Israel, we've remained intensely focused on Gaza.

02:00 We urge the rapid implementation of Israel's humanitarian assistance commitments – more

02:06 aid, more crossings, better deconfliction, better distribution of the assistance to all

02:12 who need it.

02:13 We have seen important steps over the last couple of weeks, with more crossings opening,

02:19 more aid getting in, more aid getting around.

02:22 But we need to see sustained results, and we need in particular to make sure that there

02:27 is distribution throughout Gaza.

02:30 The only thing standing between the Gazan people and a ceasefire is Hamas.

02:36 It's rejected generous proposals from Israel.

02:41 It seems more interested in a regional conflict than it is in a ceasefire that would immediately

02:46 improve the lives of the Palestinian people.

02:49 It continues to move the goalposts, and the world needs to know and needs to understand,

02:54 that the only thing standing between a ceasefire and the Gazan people is Hamas.

03:04 Thank you.

03:04 [END]

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