Secretary of State Antony Blinken is reportedly postponing a high-stakes trip to the Middle East amid “uncertainty” as Iran considers launching an attack against Israel.
Blinken, 62, had been slated to travel to the region Tuesday ahead of talks planned for later this week in which Qatar, Egypt and the United States will present a plan to implement a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The Biden administration official “delayed his trip to the Middle East and won’t travel to the region tonight as planned due to the uncertainty about the situation,” Axios reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources.
In response to a request for comment, the State Department referred The Post to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel’s remarks during Tuesday’s press briefing, in which he indicated that he didn’t “have any travel for Secretary Blinken to preview at the moment.”
“What I can say is that as it relates to the Middle East region, the Secretary is laser-ly focused and engaged on the region through calls with his counterparts, through calls with other leaders,” Patel added.
“He has been working the phones for the past number of weeks, continuing to echo the same message, which is we are close to getting this ceasefire deal across the finish line, and it is vital for the release of the remaining hostages, including American citizens.”
The region has been on high alert for over a week, with Israel expecting a retaliatory strike from Iran and its proxies related to the recent assassinations of Hamas’ top leader in Tehran, Ismail Haniyeh, and Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah is reportedly expected to hit Israel in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Israeli and US officials also believe Iran is increasingly likely to launch an attack this week, ahead of Thursday’s cease-fire and hostage negotiations.
The Iranian regime has been taking “significant preparatory steps in its missile and drone units” which mirror its actions before an April attack on Israel, Israeli and US officials told Axios.
A senior Biden administration official told reporters last week that if Iran were to attack the Jewish state it would dash “any hope” of getting the cease-fire and hostage release deal done.
On Tuesday, Hamas fired two long-range missiles at Tel Aviv in its first attack on the Israeli city in months. No casualties were reported.
The terror group has said it will not participate in Thursday’s talks unless Israel agrees to a permanent end to the war in Gaza.
