The United States has called on China and other countries to pressure Iran to prevent an attack on Israel

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked the Chinese Foreign Minister and other counterparts to do so use your influence to dissuade Iran from attacking Israelthe State Department said Thursday.

Blinken spoke by phone with his counterparts from China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the European Union to “clarify that (Military) escalation benefits no one and that countries should urge Iran not to cultivate it,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

Blinken also spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “to reiterate strong (American) support for Israel in the face of these threats,” Miller said.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said this on Wednesday Israel would be “punished” after attributing responsibility for the April 1st attack in Syria.

The attack destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus and killed 16 peopleincluding seven members of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that the United States has “warned” Iran over its threats against Israel.

President Joe Biden reiterated on Wednesday that US support for Israel is ‘strong’ although he recently criticized the prime minister Israeli Netanyahu for the way he wages the war in Gaza.

The United States has made repeated public calls for China to do more about the crisis in the Middle East, for example by putting pressure on Iran, which supports the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Beijing, in turn, criticized the United States for acting with prejudice against Israel.

Fears

United States and its allies They believe large missile or drone attacks are imminent by Iran or its allies against military and government targets in Israel, in what would mark a significant six-month extension of the conflict in Gaza, according to people familiar with the intelligence.

The possible attack, possibly with high-precision missiles, could come in the next few days, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential matters. It’s seen more as a question of when, not if, that will happen, one of the people said, based on U.S. and Israeli intelligence assessments.

Israel’s Western allies were told that the Israeli government and military installations can be attacked, but civilian facilities are not expected to be, they said. U.S. officials are helping Israel plan and share intelligence assessments, the people said.

Israel has told its allies that it is waiting for this attack to occur before launching another ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah, Gaza, although it is unclear when this operation might begin.

American and Western intelligence indicates an attack by Iran and its proxies it may not necessarily come from northern Israelwhere Hezbollah, Tehran’s ally in Lebanon, is located, the people said.