Blinken Meets Turkey’s Erdogan As Middle East Tensions Rise

(Bloomberg) -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with top Turkish officials as he started a diplomatic tour aimed at avoiding a broader regional war in the Middle East and rallying Arab support for Gaza's post-conflict governance. 

The top US diplomat met with Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for over an hour on Saturday afternoon after speaking with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan earlier in the day. Separately, Europe's top foreign policy official was in Lebanon warning against a regional conflict. 

Blinken will next make a brief stop in Greece, where he'll meet with Prime Minister Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with whom he's expected to discuss sales of F-35 fighter jets. From there Blinken will crisscross the Middle East over several days, with stops planned in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Israel and the West Bank. 

As Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip is about to enter its fourth month, the US hopes that Turkey can use its influence in the Middle East, including with Iran, to help reduce the chances of a broader conflict. 

Washington wants to enlist Ankara's support for plans on how to govern Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas ends, a senior US official told reporters traveling with Blinken. 

Blinken and Fidan discussed Sweden's North Atlantic Treat Organization accession process and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on X, formerly Twitter. 

Read more: Blinken to Focus on What Comes Next for Gaza on New Mideast Trip

Blinken's fourth trip to the region since war erupted between Israel and Hamas, following the Oct. 7 attacks that killed 1,200 Israelis, comes as the risk of a regional conflagration grows more serious.  

On Saturday, Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon after the militant group fired dozens of rockets into Israel. Hezbollah's rocket volley came after Hamas blamed Israel for a drone strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut that killed a senior Hamas official earlier this week.  

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, was in Beirut on Saturday where he said it was “imperative” to avoid an escalation of hostilities. 

“I am sending this message to Israel too: nobody will win from a regional conflict,” Borrell said at a press conference with Lebanon's foreign minister, according to Agence France Presse. 

Separately, two blasts in Iran this week that killed almost 100 people — the deadliest attacks since the 1979 founding of the Islamic Republic — have also put the region on edge. Islamic State claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack.

The US has already struck targets in Iraq in response to attacks by Iran-backed militias on US armed forces in the country. A US-led coalition has also warned Houthi militants in Yemen of unspecified “consequences” should attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea continue, raising the possibility of further Western strikes in the region.  

Blinken will deliver a message across the region that the Biden administration isn't interested in escalating the conflict, but will respond the attacks on its personnel and interests, the senior US official said, adding that Washington expects Arab partners to convey that message onto Iran. 

Read more: US Braces for High-Stakes Decisions Over Houthi Sea Strikes 

--With assistance from Tugce Ozsoy and Sotiris Nikas.

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