Antony Blinken heads to the east to refocus efforts against China, as his tour in the Middle East ends in complete failure.
Antony Blinken’s tour in the Middle East “brought little visible progress” on a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, according to Bloomberg.
The US-based media outlet said the US Secretary of State’s efforts brought to light a “clear disregard for the US position,” as Israeli authorities rejected a temporary humanitarian ceasefire.
Blinken also met with Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah, Jordanian officials in Amman, and Iraq officials in Baghdad, where his suggestions were rejected in favor of a full ceasefire, according to Bloomberg.
Turkey puts Blinken on ice
The top US diplomat ended his tour in Turkey, defeated, admitting that his diplomatic efforts to secure a “humanitarian pause” was still “a work in progress,” The Guardian reported.
In Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not meet with the US Secretary of State, as the Turkish government sufficed with a meeting between its Foreign Minister and Blinken.
The country has seen several protests outside US military bases in the country, specifically outside the Incirlik Air Base, where two strategic US bombers landed earlier.
Moreover, Turkey’s President has voiced his condemnation of Netanyahu’s government and his support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip on multiple occasions. Erdogan has also stressed that “Netanyahu is no longer someone we can talk to. We have written him off.”
Life-threatening visit to Iraq
In Baghdad, Blinken and the delegation he led wore bulletproof vests, as Iraqi Resistance factions responded to the US backing of Israeli war crimes, diplomatically and militarily, with more than 40 attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria.
Just after his pointless visit to the Iraqi capital, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani traveled to Tehran to meet with top Iranian officials including, Sayyed Ali Khamenei and President Ibrahim Raisi.
During a joint press conference with the Iranian President, al-Sudani stressed that those who want “to contain the conflict” should pressure the occupation to end its aggression and its systemic killing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Iraqi Prime Minister emphasized that the “decision to pull the region into an all-out war, that threatens [peace] and security in the region, is in the hand of the party that practices an aggression on Gaza.”
Al-Sudani underscored the deep ties between the two neighboring countries and his countries’ support of Gaza and its Resistance just a day after meeting with Blinken, who expressed concern over continued attacks on US assets in the region.
US foreign policy failing on all fronts
Blinken has now left Turkey to meet with officials in Japan, South Korea, and India, where he hopes to shift his focus back to “the primary US concern, China,” Bloomberg wrote.
The media outlet highlighted the fact that nations feel more comfortable criticizing US foreign policy on issues such as Palestine and Ukraine. The support of the Israeli government’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza made views that describe US foreign policy as hypocritical more prominent, Bloomberg reported.
The outlet stressed that “failure to address these perceptions” could be detrimental to its propaganda war against Russia and China.
Meanwhile, Western diplomats even went as far as saying the crisis has left the US, “Israel”, and its Western allies increasingly isolated in a way that is starting to resemble the 2003 Iraq War, damaging alliances while also fueling potential extremism at home, as reported by NBC News.
Source: almayadeen
