MOSCOW, April 15 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in conversation with The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan stressed the need to avoid further escalation in the Middle East after Iran's attack on Israel.
«Secretary of State Blinken and the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Egypt — ed.) emphasized the importance of preventing escalation and (the importance of) coordinating diplomatic efforts,» the US State Department said in a statement.
Blinken also discussed this with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Jordan.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, the elite units of the Armed Forces) said on Sunday night that it was attacking Israeli territory in response to the destruction by Israeli aircraft of the Iranian consulate in Syria in early April. The attack, according to various sources, involved from several dozen to hundreds of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, including Shahed kamikaze drones.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that the armed forces have been put on high alert. The Pentagon said it would support Israel, and Iran's mission to the UN called it a conflict between Tehran and Tel Aviv, calling on Washington to «stay away.»
The Israeli Air Force struck the building of the Iranian Consulate General in the Syrian capital Damascus on April 1. According to the IRGC, seven corps officers were killed, including two high-ranking general advisers: Mohammad Reza Zahedi, commander of the IRGC Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, and his deputy, Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi. Tehran stated that it reserves the right to respond.