“Elizabeth Stikney”: We Are Not Seeking War with Iran, All Parties Should Exercise Restraint

Elizabeth Stikney, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said: We are not seeking war with Iran and we call on all parties to exercise restraint.

Elizabeth Stikney, regional spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, responded to a question posed by Arum News about whether there is a possibility of a confrontation between Iran and the United States, saying: “We are not striving for war and we invite all parties to exercise restraint in order to avoid escalation and broader military engagement.”

She also added regarding the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh and whether it could end prisoner exchange negotiations: “Our negotiators are working seriously to close gaps in the negotiations and concluding a prisoner exchange agreement and ending violence remains of paramount importance to us, and we have a team in the region that continues their efforts in this regard.”

Elizabeth Stikney, regarding concerns about a possible attack by Iran and Hezbollah in response to the two recent assassination operations, continued: “We were not aware of the assassination operations and had no involvement in them. We do not want to speculate about Iran’s actions in response to these two operations and we call on all parties to exercise restraint in order to prevent escalation into a broader conflict.”

She also added regarding the possibility of a confrontation between Iran and the United States: “Avoiding a full-scale war in the region begins with a ceasefire agreement and reaching it requires that all parties refrain from escalatory measures and seek reasons for agreement rather than reasons for delaying or rejecting this agreement.”