US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday held a phone call with Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi to discuss the "urgent need to avoid further escalation" in Middle East amid expectations that Iran will retaliate against Israel for the bombing of its consulate in Damascus.
Blinken and Safadi also discussed "diplomatic efforts to achieve an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza that provides lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Ongoing efforts to secure an immediate cease-fire in Gaza for at least six weeks in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners were also discussed during the call, according to Miller.
"Secretary Blinken thanked Jordan for its leadership in facilitating the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, including through joint U.S.-Jordan airdrops and deliveries by land," Miller said in the statement.
Earlier on Friday, US President Joe Biden warned Iran against attacking Israel.
"We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help to defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed," Biden told reporters as he concluded virtual remarks to a civil rights group.
Israel is on high alert amid Iran's public vow to attack Israeli targets in retaliation for the April 1 airstrike on its diplomatic facility in the Syrian capital. The strike killed at least seven members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two top generals.
Iran has accused Israel of carrying out the attack and vowed to respond. Israel, however, has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack, but it has for months carried out a number of strikes against Iranian targets across Syria.
Both Iran and Hezbollah, its main ally in Lebanon, have said that the attack will not go unpunished.
Asked by a reporter how imminent an Iranian attack is, Biden said his expectation is "sooner than later."
The escalation comes as Israel continues to wage a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack in early October by Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people.
More than 33,600 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, and over 75,800 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
