Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that the U.S. was not involved in any “offensive operations” when asked about an apparent Israeli attack on Iran in the early hours of Friday, but declined to comment further on potential Israeli involvement and whether the strikes are over. 

What You Need To Know

  • Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that the U.S. was not involved with any “offensive operations” when asked about an apparent Israeli attack on Iran in the early hours of Friday
  • He declined to comment further on potential Israeli involvement, whether the U.S. knew about it ahead of time and whether the strikes are over
  • The Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Friday told reporters at his own news conference that the U.S. told G7 ministers that is was “informed at the last minute” about Israel’s plans to attack Iran
  • Iran fired air defense batteries at drones near the central Iranian city of Isfahan in the early hours of Friday in what was reportedly an attack by Israel 

“I'm not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations," Blinken said during a news conference in Capri, Italy where he is attending the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting. 

"What we're focused on, what the G7 is focused on, and again, it's reflected in our statement, and in our conversation, is our work to deescalate tensions, to deescalate from any potential conflicts,” Blinken continued, going on to emphasis the U.S. is focused on making sure Israel can defend itself – appearing to emphasis the line the U.S. has drawn between defensive and offensive actions. 

Blinken’s comments came as the Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Friday told reporters at his own news conference that the U.S. told G7 ministers that it was “informed at the last minute” by Israel about the plan. 

“They were, United States, were informed at the last minute, but there was no involvement on the part of the United States, it was simply information which was provided,” Tajani told reporters.

The foreign minister noted that the diplomats changed the subject of the Friday morning session to discuss the early Friday attack. 

Blinken was also asked whether it had any indication Iran would respond to the drone action but he did address the question. 

Iran fired air defense batteries near the central Iranian city of Isfahan in the early hours of Friday in response to drones fired. Israel has not said whether it was behind the drone attack but has been pledging to respond to what has been described as an unprecedented attack on Israel from Iran last weekend. 

Last Saturday, Iran fired more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel in an attack that inflamed already existing fears that the war in Gaza could spill over into the region and become a wider conflict in the Middle East. Israel, with the help of other countries, including the U.S., intercepted 99% of the missiles and drones, according to U.S. officials. 

The U.S. has emphasized its “ironclad” commitment to helping Israel defend itself while drawing a stark line between that and participating in any offensive actions in retalitation.