Blinken: US not involved in Israel 'offensive operations,' won't say if informed of new Iran strike

"What we're focused on, what the G7 is focused on, and again, it's reflected in our statement, and in our conversation, is our work to de-escalate tensions," Blinken says

By Nicholas Ballasy

Secretary of State Antony Blinken declined Friday to say whether U.S. was warned in advance about the Israeli overnight attack on Iran.

"I'm not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations," Blinken said at a news conference during a gathering of G7 foreign ministers.

"What we're focused on, what the G7 is focused on, and again, it's reflected in our statement, and in our conversation, is our work to de-escalate tensions, to de-escalate from any potential conflicts," Blinken added.

According to the Associated Press, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had said the U.S. told G7 ministers that Israel “informed" the U.S. at the "last minute” about the drones “but there was no sharing of the attack by the U.S. It was a mere information.”