Blinken says US 'not involved in any offensive operation'

The United States was "not involved in any offensive operation", U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday following reports that Israel had carried out revenge strikes on Iran.

"I'm not going to speak to these reported events... All I can say is for our part and for all the members of the G7 our focus is on de-escalation", Blinken told a press conference on the Italian island of Capri.

The United States told the Group of Seven foreign ministers on Friday that it received “last minute” information from Israel about a drone action in Iran, Italy’s foreign minister said.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who chaired the meeting of ministers of industrialized countries, said the United States provided the information at a Friday morning session that was changed at the last minute to address the suspected attack.

Tajani said the U.S. informed the G7 ministers that it had been “informed at the last minute” by Israel about the drones. “But there was no sharing of the attack by the U.S. It was a mere information.”