IRIA News

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on another diplomatic journey to mend Washington’s deteriorating image in the Middle East. Blinken has traveled to Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey to meet regional leadership and his counterparts. He would also travel to Japan, India, and South Korea in the last leg of his trip.

Blinken’s latest diplomatic travels started on November 3, 2023, not long after he completed a week-long trip to the Middle East. He started his trip in Tel Aviv where he met with Israel’s War Cabinet member Minister Benny Gantz and President Isaac Herzog.

Secretary Blinken reaffirmed that the United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism. Secretary Blinken and Minister Gantz discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of hostages and maintain calm and stability in the West Bank. Secretary Blinken stressed that the United States remains committed to advancing a two-state solution.

The U.S. secretary then traveled to Jordan to participate in the ministerial meeting of regional partners in Amman. He met with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Crown Prince Al Hussein to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Blinken underscored shared commitment to the protection of civilians and to facilitating the increased, sustained delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance, the resumption of essential services, and ensuring that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced outside of Gaza.

He also met with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on the margins of a ministerial meeting in Amman. Secretary Blinken and Prime Minister Al Thani discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza amid Israeli military operations against Hamas.

In Jordan, Blinken held a meeting with the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini. UNRWA is one of the very few humanitarian missions in Gaza and the region that is providing critical assistance to civilians amid Israel’s bombing.

Philippe emphasized the importance of UNRWA and the difficulties his organization is facing. He said that more than 72 UNRWA staff members have been killed serving in Gaza as a result of Israel’s bombing since the crisis began.

CIA Director William Burns is also in the Middle East to engage with intelligence partners and regional leaders. The visit comes as United States makes effort to encourage Israel to pursue a targeted approach against Hamas, allow humanitarian pauses and minimize civilian casualties. The United States plans to enhance intelligence cooperation with Israel, offering valuable information on hostage locations and potential follow-up actions by Hamas, according to U.S. media reports.

Surprise visits to West Bank and Iraq

Blinken made an unannounced visit to the West Bank during his trip where he held a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who called for an immediate cease-fire as pressure grows on Israel.

Secretary Blinken reiterated that the United States remains committed to advancing equal measures of dignity and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike. He expressed the commitment of the United States to working toward the realization of the Palestinians’ legitimate aspirations for the establishment of a Palestinian state, however, rejected the possibility of a ceasefire.

Met with President Abbas and affirmed our commitment to delivery of humanitarian assistance and restoration of essential services in Gaza. Made clear that extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must end and reiterated our support for a two state solution. pic.twitter.com/gax3F23ned

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 5, 2023

According to the U.S. State Department, Blinken and Abbas discussed efforts to restore calm and stability in the West Bank, including the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians and hold those accountable responsible. 

Blinken took another detour from his scheduled plans to visit Baghdad and hold talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Speaking to reporters after their meeting, Blinken said the talks with al-Sudani were “productive” and his Iraqi counterpart was working with his security forces to “take necessary action” to deal with the attacks.

“This is a matter of Iraqi sovereignty,” Blinken said. “No country wants to have militia groups engaged in violent activity.”

Erdogan refused to meet Blinken

Blinken met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for two and a half hours in the Turkish capital Ankara on November 6 but was snubbed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The two top diplomats agreed on the critical importance of protecting civilians and ensuring humanitarian assistance reaches civilians in Gaza. The Secretary and Foreign Minister Fidan emphasized the importance of the longstanding U.S.-Turkish cooperation as NATO Allies and Euro-Atlantic security priorities including Sweden’s NATO accession.

Arrived in Türkiye last night at a consequential time for stability and security in the region. Today, I will meet with government leaders as we seek to prevent the spread of the conflict in Gaza and find ways to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance. pic.twitter.com/VxgRE8nGL8

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 6, 2023

“We discussed, efforts to significantly expand the humanitarian assistance to people in need, efforts to prevent the conflict from expanding to other parts of the region, and what we can do to set the conditions for a durable, sustainable, lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians,” Blinken later told reporters at the airport before departing Ankara.

“We are working very aggressively on getting more humanitarian assistance in Gaza. And we have very concrete ways of doing that. And I think we’ll see in the days ahead that assistance can expand in significant ways,” he added.

G7 ministers meeting

As a last leg of his travels, Blinken would head to Japan for the G7 foreign ministers meeting that is to be held in Tokyo on November 7-8. Blinken will hold talks with his G7 counterparts and have separate talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Foreign Minster Yoko Kamikawa.

He would also visit Seoul to meet South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on other occasions. Blinken would return to Washington after making a last stop in India on November 10. “Secretary Blinken will be in India on November 10. He will be joined by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. They will be traveling to India for the annual 2+2 Dialogue,” said Donald Lu, the State Department’s assistant secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs.