Creating path to Palestinian state can isolate Iran: Antony Blinken

Cairo, January 11

Israel working with the region and creating a path to a Palestinian state is the best way to isolate Iran, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday, as he ended a frenetic regional tour over the Gaza war in Cairo. Shuttling between Israel and Arab states, Blinken has been pushing for a way forward from the bloodshed in Gaza, even as the conflict threatens to spread further to Lebanon, Iraq and Red Sea shipping lanes.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Blinken said the region faced two paths, the first of which would see “Israel integrated, with security assurances and commitments from regional countries and as well from the United States, and a Palestinian state – at least a pathway to get to that state”.

“The other path is to continue to see the terrorism, the nihilism, the destruction by Hamas, by the Houthis, by Hezbollah, all backed by Iran,” he said. “The first path is the best way to isolate, to marginalise Iran and the proxies making trouble,” he added. — Reuters