The governments of the United States and Qatar on Wednesday called on “all” parties in the Middle East not to “undermine” indirect negotiations for a cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip, which are expected to resume later today in Doha, a warning that is clearly addressed not only to Israel and Hamas, but also to Iran.

The head of American diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, and the prime minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdelrahman al-Thani, stressed during their telephone conversation yesterday that “no actor in the region should take actions that would undermine the efforts made to reach an agreement” , according to a press release released by the State Department’s deputy spokesman, Vedant Patel.

The two men discussed “efforts to defuse tensions in the region (ie the Middle East) and the importance of finalizing a cease-fire agreement in Gaza,” according to the text.

The US secretary of state also spoke yesterday with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelati, as part of efforts in recent days to avoid escalation, his services said. He already had contacts with the heads of diplomacy of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, as well as Israel.

Indirect negotiations aimed at concluding a cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip are to resume today in the capital of Qatar, at the invitation of mediators — Doha, Cairo, Washington — based on the proposal presented by US President Joe Biden on the 31st May.

Mr. Biden estimated the day before Tuesday that the declaration of an armistice could prevent an attack by Iran against Israel. Tehran has warned that there will be retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in the Iranian capital on July 31, which it blamed on Israel.

Ismail Haniya played a key role in the indirect negotiations.

The US, Israel’s main military and diplomatic supporter internationally, has repeatedly expressed its displeasure at the extremely heavy civilian toll and humanitarian devastation in the Palestinian enclave due to the war, which was sparked by a Hamas attack on southern sectors of Israeli territory on October 7.

The day before Tuesday, Mr Blinken called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent future “provocations” after far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and thousands of other Jews prayed at Mosque Square, also known as the Temple Mount, in east Jerusalem. , which caused an international outcry.