US Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 22, 2023 in Washington.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday it was not clear whether Iran was involved in Hamas’ attacks on Israel over the weekend.
Iran has long supported Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, and Saturday’s attack left at least 250 people dead in Israel.
“While we have yet to find any evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack, there is certainly a long relationship,” Blinken said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Smoke rises in Gaza City, Gaza, May 10, 2023, as Palestinians react to Israeli rocket airstrikes from Gaza.
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Some Republican leaders have pointed to Iran as the cause of the attack. “We know Iran was behind this,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) later said on CNN, but was he talking about specific information about this weekend’s attack? He did not say whether he was talking about Iran’s historic support for Hamas in general.
One of the criticisms of Mr. Blinken and the Biden administration is the $6 billion that the United States agreed to unfreeze in September so that Iran could only use it for humanitarian purposes as part of a prisoner exchange. But Blinken said Sunday that none of the $6 billion released to Iran has been spent.
Blinken also said the United States was working to verify reports that Americans were killed or missing in the attack. He added that news about a request for additional aid from the United States to Israel could be released later on Sunday.
Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a rocket fired from Gaza City on May 10, 2023.
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Israel subsequently launched a counterattack against Hamas, including attacks in Gaza, and the country’s security cabinet formally recognized a “state of war.” The weekend’s developments have raised concerns that the conflict could spread to include other groups in the Middle East.
Blinken said there had been “limited firing” between Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Israel, but “it’s quiet at this point, but we’re monitoring it closely.”
“Our primary focus is to ensure that Israel has what it needs to deal with the situation in Gaza. “We sent a very clear message to anyone who might do this, that’s not the case with this situation,” Blinken said.
