US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancels planned Israel visit - report

One senior Israeli political official said regarding the situation that "it's impossible to ignore the sensitive timing" of Blinken's cancelation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (photo credit: MICHAEL VARAKLAS/POOL VIA REUTERS)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
(photo credit: MICHAEL VARAKLAS/POOL VIA REUTERS)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned trip to Israel, according to a Channel 13 report on Thursday evening

It was reported that Blinken was supposed to pay a quick visit to Israel as part of a Middle East trip, although he decided to cancel.

One senior Israeli political official said regarding the situation that "it is impossible to ignore the sensitive timing" of Blinken's cancelation.

"It may just be a technical cancelation, the Americans are trying to drop the Iranian issue from the agenda until the elections. They realized that the nuclear issue cannot be stopped without military activity in Iran," the official continued.

The Iranian issue

Iran increased the level of enriched uranium from 25% to 60% and continues to violate the restrictions imposed on its nuclear activities as part of the nuclear agreement signed in 2015, which the US under the Trump administration withdrew from, according to the IAEA.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives for a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, February 18, 2023. (credit: PETR DAVID JOSEK/POOL VIA REUTERS)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives for a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, February 18, 2023. (credit: PETR DAVID JOSEK/POOL VIA REUTERS)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he has "one clear message to Iran and the international community, Israel will do whatever it takes in order to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon." He made these statements in a Twitter video that he posted on Thursday evening.