Antony Blinken: On the US mission to stop Gaza igniting wider war - BBC News

The US secretary of state wants to prevent the war escalating but the cauldron of tensions could boil over.

4 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Antony Blinken meeting Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE in Abu Dhabi on MondayBy Anthony ZurcherTravelling with the US secretary of stateOf all the priorities for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his fourth visit to the Middle East in three months, there is one message above all others that he wants to deliver.

His main mission on this trip is to ensure the Israel-Gaza war does not spread into a regional conflict.

As he flies between destinations in southwest Asia - a packed schedule that includes stops in Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel - there is ample evidence, however, that the cauldron of tensions in the region is on the verge of boiling over.

Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched repeated missile and drone attacks on civilian shipping in the Red Sea, bringing traffic through that key international waterway to a near halt.

The US has warned that it will defend its interests. If the rebels persist, and the disruption to global commerce continues, an American military response may be inevitable - a development that would unnerve some key American Arab allies.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67911825?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

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