and frankly, if i m asked by the united states, because i think you can t have too much cooks in the kitchen. if asked by all relevant party, i ll certainly consider it. but i m i m not pushing myself in. i think this is of monumental importance, because i think the peace of the world is at stake. there s a lot to discuss here. netanyahu went on to make the case that israel is helping ukraine right now by attacking iranian weapons productions that are being used to attack ukraine. but he refused to acknowledge whether israel was behind drone attacks on an iranian military plant over the weekend. look. did israel carry out this strike in iran over the weekend? i never talk about specific operations with the exception, i think, of our raid on iran s secret nuclear archive. and every time some explosion takes place in the middle east, israel is blamed or given responsibility. sometimes we are, sometimes we re not. but i will say that there is
this. jake talked about that as the grand prize, right, for netanyahu? normalizing relations with saudi? i want to talk now about the weekend drone attacks on this iranian military plant. the wall street journal and new york times cited sources claiming israel is responsible. cnn has not confirmed, netanyahu did not deny it when he spoke to jake. listen to this. did israel carry out this strike in iran over the weekend? i never talk about specific operations with the exception of our raid on iran s secret nuclear archive. every time an explosion takes place in the middle east, you know, israel is blamed or given responsibility. sometimes we are. sometimes we are not. but i will say that there is you re right. there is an overriding mission that i have. i came back and ran in these l.a.x.s and was elected the sixth time for because i have three overriding goals.
than that. patrick, thanks for that. bomb carrying drones have attacked and damaged a military plant in central iran. the iranians claim their air defense destroyed two drones. they are not saying who may be behind that attack. lunar new year travel surging in china. domestic trips have increased 70% but well below 2019 levels. four have died from flooding in northern new zealand. state of emergency remains in place for auckland as the country braces for more heavy rain this week. courtroom drama as jurors get to watch the first police interview with alex murdaugh after his wife and son were found murdered. bad breaks and a bad call setting up a classic super bowl matchup. bleacher report next. on the run to the end zone. her stack of hats grew. she even served turkey legs with what s on tap, all while wearing a viking hat.
we re seeing the worst violence among israelis and palestinians in years. secretary of state blinken is urging all sides to deescalate. how concerned is the biden administration right now about the potential escalation of violence there? we re very concerned. as you heard secretary blinken say, this serves nobody s interest, this increased violence and tensions between both sides. we really do call for calm. we call for a reduction in the violence here and we call for time and space so that these tensions can be worked out peacefully. so a viable two-state solution can remain still the goal. according to various u.s. media reports, and you probably read them, u.s. officials believe israel was behind the drone attacks at a military plant in iran over the weekend. is that true? are those reports accurate? i don t have anything to speak to specifically with those press reports, wolf. that was not the kind of thing we would have any comment on
JERUSALEM U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel on Monday, urging Israelis and Palestinians to calm tensions and reiterating Washington's "ironclad" commitment to Israel's security.