Blinken in Jordan, to reach Israel on Monday

Tel Aviv , Jan 7 (IANS) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a whirlwind tour of the Middle East to defuse escalating tensions, has reached Amman the capital of Jordan.

This is the fifth visit of the US state secretary to the Middle eastern region including Israel ever since the October 7 attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 240.

The present visit of Blinken is to defuse the heightened tensions in the northern border of Israel after Hezbollah has entered the war albeit in small measures.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasarullah has in a televised address said that his organisation won't sit idle after the killing of Hamas deputy political head Saleh Al-Arouri. This killing has heightened the tensions in the region and the US has passed on the communique to the Hezbollah that a full fledged war with Israel in northern Israel has the potential to spread into a major war, destabilising the region.

Blinken, during his visit, will be meeting leaders of all the Arabian countries and Israel to try and contain the war from getting escalated into a full-fledged one.