U.S. officials were swift to distance themselves from recent Israeli military actions in Syria and Gaza, aiming to prevent further escalation of hostilities in the region and minimize America's involvement in the conflict.
The Pentagon stated that Israel did not inform them about its strike on an Iranian embassy building in Damascus, Syria, on Monday, which resulted in the deaths of at least seven Iranian officials, including three senior commanders. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh emphasized, "Tensions are high in the region, and we wanted to make it very clear in private channels that the U.S. had no involvement in the strike in Damascus."
(The Israeli government has not publicly acknowledged the strike.) This attack marked a significant escalation, according to Ali Vaez, director of the International Crisis Group's Iran Project, who described it as "almost like targeting Iran on its sovereign soil."
Simultaneously, U.S. officials worked to manage global anger and control the fallout from the Israeli Defense Forces' strike on a humanitarian convoy, which killed seven workers for the charity organization World Central Kitchen on April 1.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby expressed the White House's outrage at the civilian casualties, calling the incident "emblematic of a larger problem."
These incidents have compelled U.S. officials to spend a considerable amount of time addressing Israel's actions.
The IDF's conflict with Hamas in Gaza, supported by U.S. military aid, has resulted in the deaths of over 32,000 Palestinians and has left hundreds of thousands at risk of famine.
The strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy has caused aid groups and even the United Arab Emirates to pause their humanitarian assistance efforts at a crucial moment.
While it remains uncertain how Iran will retaliate against Israel for the attack on its embassy compound, officials and analysts believe Iran is likely to follow through on its threat.
However, Iran aims to avoid escalating the conflict into a direct confrontation. Iranians believe Israel seeks to expand the war, potentially dragging the U.S. into a confrontation with Iran.
Vaez noted, "In the same way that we hold Iran accountable for actions of its proxies [for] providing arms and financial support to its allies in the region, they hold the U.S. responsible for Israeli actions, because the U.S. arms and finances the Israeli military."
This could mean that after a two-month pause in attacks from Iranian proxies, American troops in the region could once again become targets of Iran's retaliation.
Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador for a midnight meeting on Tuesday, asking them to convey a message to Washington that the "U.S. must answer" for Israel's actions, according to foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian. Since Washington and Tehran lack diplomatic relations, Switzerland serves as an intermediary. Brig.
Gen.
Mohammad Reza Zahedi, reportedly among the dead, would be the most senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer to be killed since the 2020 U.S. assassination of Qassen Soleimani.
Speaking at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that U.S. officials had urged the Israeli government to conduct a swift, thorough, and impartial investigation into the strikes on the humanitarian convoy in Gaza.
Unlike his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne, who condemned the Israeli military's actions, Blinken did not directly condemn the incident.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the strikes as a "tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants in the Gaza Strip." World Central Kitchen, however, emphasized the deliberate targeting of humanitarian workers, with Erin Gore, chief executive of the organization, stating, "This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable."
When asked if there was no red line the U.S. was willing to draw regarding military aid to Israel after the attack on aid workers, Kirby expressed frustration, stating, "We’ve had this discussion quite a bit. You want us to hang some sort of condition over their neck.
And what I’m telling you is that we continue to work with the Israelis to make sure that they are as precise as they can be... That doesn't mean that it's a free pass."