US and EU diplomats are holding urgent discussions around the Middle East in a race to try to head off the threat of a full-blown regional war after Israel targeted Hizbollah and Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran. e
The western diplomatic pressure comes as fears over a broader regional conflict soared as Iran and Hizbollah separately vowed to avenge the attacks.
Officials said the talks were focused on convincing Tehran to either not respond or to carry out symbolic action, after Israeli diplomats told western interlocutors that their military did not plan further operations.
“Everyone since last night is putting pressure on Tehran to not respond and to contain this,” said one western diplomat involved in the discussions.
“Washington’s ability to shape events is likely to be rather limited,” said Jonathan Panikoff, a former senior intelligence officer who is now director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative. “In the immediate term, Iran, Hizbollah, and Hamas’s responses to Shukr and Haniyeh’s deaths will drive the likelihood for a regionalised war or reversion to tit-for-tat attacks,” he added. Event details and information
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