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The US Secretary of State has said he can see a future for Israel in which a “coalition of countries are working together to deal with the Iranian threat and to isolate it”.

Antony Blinken said that would involve Israel being “integrated into the region with normal relations with its neighbours”.

There also needs to be a “resolution to the Palestinian question”, he added, which is “necessary to really deep root and achieve that coalition”.

He went on: “It deals with the single biggest threat to Israel’s security – and, for that matter, to the security of most countries in the region and our own – which is Iran and its proxies. 

“But to get there, it’s going to require calm in Gaza and it’s going to require a clear pathway to a Palestinian state.”

Iran is playing down this attack – here’s why

We are still waiting for official confirmation from Iran that this attack was carried out from Israel. 

Throughout the day, Iranian officials appear to be playing down the strike, telling reporters explosions were caused by its air defence system, there has been no damage caused and its forces only fired at a “suspicious object”. 

However, US officials have confirmed to a number of Western media outlets that Israel launched a strike in retaliation to Iran’s 1 April attack in the early hours of this morning. 

An international affairs expert has explained why Iran is “playing down” the attack. 

Dominic Waghorn says Tehran’s response has been “very telling”. 

“Before this, the Iranians said the tiniest invasion, the tiniest provocation will lead to a harsh response,” he adds. 

“So if they accepted or admitted there has been some kind of attack on their country then they will feel behoven to respond to it. 

“The fact that they are playing it down I think looks like they’re sticking to the scripts that Israel and Western allies will be relieved by.”