US-French agreement to 'avoid escalation' in Lebanon and Iran

Shafaq News / The US and French Foreign Ministers agreed on Thursday to take steps to avoid "escalation" in Lebanon and Iran following the assassination of Hamas political bureau deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri and the explosions in Kerman, Iran.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his French counterpart Catherine Colonna discussed on Wednesday the importance of measures to prevent an expansion of the conflict in Gaza. This includes taking positive steps to ease tensions in the West Bank and avoid escalation in Lebanon and Iran.

It is noteworthy cthat two explosions rocked the Iranian city of Kerman near the mausoleum of General Qassem Soleimani, resulting in the death of more than 210 people and injuring dozens.

The commander of the Quds Force, a branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, General Ismail Qaani, affirmed that agents of Israel and the United States were responsible for the terrorist attack in Kerman.

Earlier this week, Israel assassinated Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy head of Hamas's political office, and two leaders of the Qassam Brigades in Beirut.