US Secretary of State Warns of Rising Tensions Following Pager Explosions in Lebanon

Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, warned of escalating tensions in the Middle East a day after the simultaneous explosion of thousands of Hezbollah pagers, which jeopardized his recent trip to the region. The news of the pager explosions coincided with Mr. Blinken's visit to Egypt and his discussions with senior officials there in hopes of finding a way to establish a ceasefire in Gaza. The explosions on Tuesday, September 17, resulted in the deaths of 12 people, including two children, and around three thousand injuries. On Wednesday, reports emerged about the explosion of other communication devices in Lebanon. Hezbollah, in its first response, blamed Israel for the Tuesday attacks and emphasized that it would retaliate. The Israeli government has not commented on these events and officials have refused to respond to media inquiries. On Wednesday, September 18, during a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo, Blinken stated that the US government is still gathering information, but the expansion of war and conflict in the region benefits no one. The US Secretary of State added, 'All parties must refrain from actions that could lead to the escalation of conflict and tension.' He did not specify which group or government Washington believes is responsible for these explosions. Blinken noted that his trip focuses on ensuring a ceasefire that would restore calm to the region, including Israel's northern borders with Lebanon, and that all parties have accepted 15 out of 18 paragraphs in the draft agreement. According to him, reaching an agreement requires message exchanges between negotiating parties, and incidents occurring during this time may disrupt negotiations. The Secretary of State added, 'While we have been waiting for progress in negotiations, incidents and events have occurred that have complicated negotiations and even jeopardized their success. Any such event and incident will not serve our main goal of achieving a ceasefire.' He referenced the execution of six Israeli hostages by the extremist group Hamas last month as one such event. The US and its European allies have classified Hamas as a terrorist organization. In his press conference, the US Secretary of State did not mention Israel, which is believed to be responsible for the attacks on Hezbollah's pagers and has called into question the ceasefire negotiations. The Egyptian presidency stated that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi told Blinken during their meeting on Wednesday morning that 'Egypt opposes the expansion of conflict and tension at the regional level and urges all parties to act responsibly.' A US State Department official told reporters that Blinken will travel to Paris on Thursday to discuss the situation in the Middle East, Ukraine, and other issues with the foreign ministers of France, Italy, and the UK. He is also scheduled to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron. Blinken will not visit Israel during his current trip to the Middle East. This is the first time he has not gone to Israel during his regional trips since Hamas's attack on October 7 last year and the start of the war in Gaza. Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesperson, stated on Tuesday that the reason for not including Israel in Blinken's regional trip is that, on one hand, the text of the ceasefire agreement being prepared by the US and Arab mediators is not yet ready to be presented to the Israeli government, and on the other hand, one of the main focuses of Blinken's current trip is the bilateral relations between Washington and Cairo.