Blinken to head on new Middle East crisis trip on Jan. 4

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will leave on January 4 for a tour of the Middle East countries, including a visit to Israel, top-tier State Department official told reporters at a telephone briefing.

"My colleague (State Department Senior Advisor for Energy Security - TASS note) Amos Hockstine will be in Israel, I think, as early as tomorrow (January 4 - TASS note). Of course, our Secretary of State Blinken is travelling to the region tomorrow evening to visit several capitals, including Israel," he said, according to TASS.

Commenting on the bombings in Iran, the diplomat stressed that they "resemble a terrorist attack of the kind that has been carried out in the past" by militants of the extremist organisation Islamic State. "So far this is only our assumption," he noted.

At the same time, the State Department rep accused Iran of allegedly arming Yemen's Ansar Allah rebel Houthis. He said he "does not expect further warnings" by the US and its allies against the Houthis of consequences for the Red Sea attacks.

In December 2023, Axios portal quoted its sources as saying that Blinken intends to discuss the Middle East conflict settlement with officials in the West Bank, as well as in Israel, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia at the end of the first week of January. It is expected that he may also visit Greece and Türkiye.