Sec. Blinken: ‘We’re Also Committed to De-Escalating’

EXCERPT:

BLINKEN: "First, the G7 condemned the unprecedented Iranian attack on Israel, unprecedented in scope and scale. Scope because it was a direct attack on Israel from Iran, scale because it involved more than 300 munitions, including ballistic missiles. We’re committed to Israel's security. We’re also committed to de-escalating, to trying to bring this tension to a close. You saw as well, or you’ll see soon in the G7 statement, a commitment to hold Iran to account -- to account for its destabilizing activities,. holding it to account by degrading its missile and drone capabilities. And yesterday the United States announced additional sanctions on Iran, targeting UAV programs, the steel industry, companies that are associated with the IRGC, the ministry of defense and its Armed Forces Logistics. The G7 statement makes clear that G7 countries will adopt additional sanctions or other measures in the days ahead. Even as we’ve been dealing with the conflict in the Middle East and, again, the unprecedented attack by Iran on Israel, we’ve remained intensely focused on Gaza. We urge the rapid implementation of Israel’s humanitarian assistance commitments, more aid, more crossings, better de-confliction, better distribution of the assistance to all who need it.”