Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked that “there is no agreement in the offing [with Iran], even as we continue to be willing to explore diplomatic paths”. “We’ve been building up our deterrence, and we have been working closely with our partners in the region… as well as continuing to take a whole variety of measure to push back against Iranian misbehaviour in different areas”, Blinken added. “I think whether Iran chooses itself to take actions – or maybe better put, not to take actions – that further escalate the tensions not only between us but with other countries, we’ll see by their actions”.