WASHINGTON (AP) — Calling for calm in the Middle East, top U.S. national security leaders said Tuesday that they and allies are directly pressing Israel, Iran and others to avoid escalating the conflict, even as the U.S. moved more troops to the region and threatened retaliation if American forces are attacked.
“It’s urgent that everyone in the region take stock of the situation, understand the risk of miscalculation, and make decisions that will calm tensions, not exacerbate them,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the close of a meeting with Australian leaders.
Click to Gallery
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from right, standing with, from left, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, right, and Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, left, listen during a meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Unites States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, sitting next to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, speaks during a meeting with Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles during a meeting at the Unites States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from right, standing with, from left, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, standing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
In this photograph released by the U.S. Navy, an F/A-18 Super Hornet prepares to launch off the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt July 5, 2024, in the South China Sea. (Seaman Aaron Haro Gonzalez/U.S. Navy via AP)
At the same time, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted the attack Monday on U.S. forces in Iraq by an Iranian-backed militia group, which injured seven personnel, and made it clear that the U.S. won't hesitate to respond.
“Make no mistake, the United States will not tolerate attacks on our personnel in the region,” Austin told reporters at a press conference after the meeting. “And we remain ready to deploy on short notice to meet the evolving threats to our security, our partners or our interests.”
He said an “Iranian-backed Shia militia group” conducted the attack, but officials are still trying to determine which one.
Blinken and Austin met with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defense Minister Richard Marles at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss efforts to expand military cooperation and broaden diplomatic efforts in the Asia Pacific.
But they led their remarks with calls for de-escalation and support for a cease-fire. “Australia also underlines the risks to all in the region of escalation and of miscalculation,” said Wong, calling this a “decisive moment” for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Their comments came as Hamas named Yahya Sinwar — a masterminded of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that set off the war — as its new leader, fueling fears that the announcement will provoke Israel and that tensions will escalate into broader war.
Tehran has also vowed revenge against Israel over the killing last week of Hamas’ top political leader in Iran, and Lebanon's Hezbollah is threatening retaliation over an Israeli strike that killed one of the group's senior commanders in Beirut.
It has all complicated efforts by American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators to salvage negotiations over the cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza.
Blinken said further attacks will only perpetuate conflict, adding that “we’ve been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners communicating that message directly to Iran. We communicated that message directly to Israel.”
Still, Austin laid out a number of U.S. military troops movements in recent days to help defend Israel from possible attacks by Iran and its proxies and to safeguard U.S. troops, including the deployments of additional fighter jets. He also said the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier will replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the region “later this month.”
According to a U.S. official, about a dozen F/A-18 fighter jets and an E-2D Hawkeye surveillance aircraft from the USS Theodore Roosevelt flew from the Gulf of Oman to a military base in the Middle East on Monday.
The Navy jets' land-based deployment is expected to be temporary, because a squadron of Air Force F-22 fighter jets is enroute to the same base from their home station in Alaska. The roughly dozen F-22s are expected to arrive in the Middle East in the coming days, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements.
It’s not clear how long all of the aircraft will remain together at the base, and that may depend on what — if anything — happens in the next few days.
U.S. officials released more details on Tuesday about the rocket attack that hit the military base in Iraq on Tuesday. They said five U.S. service members and two contractors were hurt when two rockets hit the al-Asad airbase.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military personnel, said five of those injured were being treated at the airbase and two were evacuated, but all seven were in stable condition. They did not provide details on who was evacuated.
The rocket attack is the latest in what has been an uptick in strikes on U.S. forces by Iranian-backed militias. It comes as tensions across the Middle East are spiking but is not believed to be connected to the Hezbollah and Hamas killings.
In recent weeks, Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have resumed launching attacks on bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria after a lull of several months, following a strike on a base in Jordan in late January that killed three American soldiers and prompted a series of retaliatory U.S. strikes.
Between October and January, an umbrella group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq had regularly claimed attacks that it said were in retaliation for Washington’s support of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and were aimed at pushing U.S. troops out of the region.
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, right, and Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, left, listen during a meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Unites States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, sitting next to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, speaks during a meeting with Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles during a meeting at the Unites States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from right, standing with, from left, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, standing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
In this photograph released by the U.S. Navy, an F/A-18 Super Hornet prepares to launch off the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt July 5, 2024, in the South China Sea. (Seaman Aaron Haro Gonzalez/U.S. Navy via AP)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A rare frigid storm charged through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday, blanketing New Orleans and Houston with snow that closed highways, grounded nearly all flights and canceled school for more than a million students more used to hurricane dismissals than snow days.
The storm prompted the first ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border, and snow plows were at the ready in the Florida Panhandle. Snow covered the white-sand beaches of normally sunny vacation spots, including Gulf Shores, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida. The heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain hitting parts of the Deep South came as a blast of Arctic air plunged much of the Midwest and the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze.
Nearly 2,000 flights to, from or within the U.S. were canceled Tuesday, with about 10,000 others delayed, according to online tracker FlightAware.com. Both Houston airports suspended flight operations starting Tuesday.
Alvaro Perez was hunkering down at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Tuesday after his flight to El Salvador, to visit his girlfriend for her birthday, was canceled. His new departure is scheduled for Thursday.
“I’ll just ride it and stay here,” said Perez, of Hockley, Texas, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) away.
Nearly every flight was cancelled at New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport, though officials said the airport itself would remain open “as long as the conditions are safe.” Most airlines planned to resume operations Wednesday.
It has been more than a decade since snow last fell on New Orleans, where schools are closed through Thursday. Bundled-up onlookers checked out the strange sight of Bourbon Street in the snow, including a snowcapped memorial to those killed in the New Year’s Day truck attack.
With more than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of snow already in parts of the city Tuesday, New Orleans has surpassed its record — 2.7 inches (6.8 centimeters) on Dec. 31, 1963 — according to the National Weather Service. There have been unofficial reports of 10 inches (26 centimeters) of snow in New Orleans in 1895, NWS meteorologist Christopher Bannan said.
The East Coast was blanketed in snow while people from the Northern Plains to the tip of Maine shivered in bitter cold from an arctic air mass that plunged temperatures well below normal.
In New Orleans, 65-year-old Robert Hammock donned a beanie and rallied himself and his border collie Tillie for a snowy morning walk.
“She loves the snow,” Hammock said, as Tillie sprawled happily in the slush on the sidewalk. “I’m from south Alabama, so I hate the snow.”
Winter storm warnings Tuesday extended from Texas to North Carolina, with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain expected to move eastward through the region into Wednesday. Meanwhile, a state of emergency was declared Monday night across at least a dozen counties in New York as heavy lake-effect snow was expected around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie through Wednesday — with 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) possible — along with extreme cold temperatures.
Ahead of the storm, governors in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and even Florida — the Sunshine State — declared states of emergency and many school systems canceled classes Tuesday. School closures were planned in some coastal communities in North and South Carolina.
The NWS said up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of snow fell in metro Houston. Texas transportation officials said more than 20 snow plows were in use across nearly 12,000 lane miles in the Houston area, which lacks its own city or county plows.
It’s the first time Houston has seen snow since a winter storm knocked out power to millions and killed more than 200 people across Texas in 2021, according to meteorologist Hayley Adams at the NWS in Houston.
Snow is rare in Texas' largest city. In February 1895, a two-day storm dropped a record 20 inches (50 centimeters) on metropolitan Houston.
Officials said one person has died from hypothermia in Georgia. Forecasters say snowfall could stretch from north Georgia, through Atlanta, and into southern portions unaccustomed to such weather.
Parts of the Florida Panhandle were coated white Tuesday. Tallahassee, Florida’s capital, last saw snow in 2018 — just 0.1 of an inch (0.25 centimeters), according to the weather service. Tallahassee's highest snowfall on record was 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) in 1958.
“Believe it or not, in the state of Florida we’re mobilizing snowplows,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Mobile, Alabama, hit 5.4 inches (13.7 centimeters) and counting Tuesday, topping the city’s one-day snowfall record of 5 inches (12.7 centimeters), set on Jan. 24, 1881, and nearing its all-time snowfall record of 6 inches (15.5 centimeters) in 1895, the weather service said.
The blizzard warning in effect until midday Tuesday was the first issued by the office in Lake Charles, Louisiana, according to meteorologist Donald Jones. Strong winds with heavy snow reduced visibility, and areas across the Gulf South that rarely see snow were expecting record-breaking snowfall, Jones said.
Louisiana transportation agency workers worked through the night to prepare bridges and roadways. Nonetheless, Louisiana State Police said they have already responded to more than 50 crashes Tuesday, and pleaded for people to stay home.
In Baton Rouge, where snowfall hit 6 inches (15 centimeters) by midday Tuesday, city officials and state police said the low visibility caused by the snow was making roads hazardous. It was the first snowfall in the capital city since 2018.
Frigid cold persisted across the eastern two-thirds of the country with multiple record lows possible through midweek, especially across the Gulf Coast and portions of the Southeast, the weather service said. Normal temperatures were only expected to return slowly by the end of the week.
Wind chills were expected to reach minus 30 to minus 50 degrees (minus 34 C to minus 46 C) at times across the Dakotas and into the Upper Midwest, posing an extreme risk of hypothermia and frostbite. Subzero wind chills were forecast from the Central Plains eastward through Wednesday night.
The NWS issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region.
This latest cold snap comes from a disruption in the polar vortex, the ring of cold air usually trapped at the North Pole.
In Southern California, where blazes have killed at least 27 people and burned thousands of homes, dry conditions and strong Santa Ana winds remained a concern.
Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; Jack Brook in New Orleans; Sara Cline in Key Largo, Florida; Julie Walker in New York; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey; Corey Williams in Detroit; Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida; Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas; Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta; Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed.
People walk past the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture on Seawall Blvd. during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Harrison County Beaches flourished with snowstorm Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Pass Christian, Miss. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
Ice is formed on the nose of the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Harrison County Beaches flourished with snowstorm Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Pass Christian, Miss. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
People walk by the empty Cafe Du Monde restaurant in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Kristyn Tramel walks her dog Bluey with her 8-year-old son Penn in the French Quarter as they stop at the memorial for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A person walks along snow covered Bourbon Street in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Gilmar Hernandez, left, and Cesar Santos, who spent a night at the closed George Bush Intercontinental Airport, wait for the next flight out Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
All cancelled flights are shown on the flight board at the closed George Bush Intercontinental Airport Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
An empty terminal is seen at the closed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Braedon McCants hits Thomas Pickell with a snowball as they snowball fights at Rice University campus Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Snow falls as the memorial for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in the French Quarter is seen in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A person walks to Jackson Square as snow falls in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
People take a walk in the neighborhood Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A person stops to take a picture at Jackson Square as snow falls in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The Houston skyline is visible in the background as snow covers downtown streets Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A person uses cross-country skis as he walks through a snow covered hill at Herman Park Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Abbie Schuh and her 8-year-old daughter Louise Delisio get covered in snow as they sled down a hill at Herman Park Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Icicles hang down from a vehicle during an icy winter storm in Galveston, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
People take a walk in the neighborhood Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Abel Allen, in a Spider-Man suit, and Angel Tircuit walk on a snow covered bridge in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Cars travel on a snow covered highway Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Lesley Martin and her 4-year-old daughter Layla Richardson walk on a snow covered street in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Snow covers Canal Street in downtown New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A car is covered with snow Tuesday morning, Jan. 21, 2025, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A couple take a walk at sunrise near the icy Oak Street Beach along the shore of Lake Michigan on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago, as the weather service issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
Harahan police respond to a building security alarm during a rare snowstorm in Harahan, La., a suburb of New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A billboard advertises for a heating and air conditioning company Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in St. Joseph, Mich., as bitterly cold temperatures in the single digits are expected over the new few days throughout Michigan. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)
Employee Ola Williams unwraps one of the last pallets of salt inside a Home Depot, as people prepare for a rare and historic snowstorm in Baton Rouge, La., Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A customer looks for pipe insulation where the shelves are now empty inside a Home Depot, as people prepare for a rare and historic snowstorm in Baton Rouge, La., Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Blowing and drifting snow batter ice fishing huts along the shipping canal near the Emma Jean Hull Flats Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Benton Harbor, Mich. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)
Crews clear sidewalks from blowing and drifting snow Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at Harbor Village in Benton Harbor, Mich. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)
William Amaya sells firewood Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm predicted to dump several inches of snow in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Passengers wait to check-in for their flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm that is expected to bring several inches of snow and will close both of Houston's airports on Tuesday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip))
Vehicles pass a sign displaying Winter storm related operations Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of predicted several inches of snow and possibly ice in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Friends and family enjoy a fun morning tubing down the hill behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)
William Amaya sells firewood out of his pickup truck Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm predicted to dump several inches of snow in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Snow is cleared as the first half ends of an NFL football NFC divisional playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Ice builds up along the shore of Lake Michigan before the sunrise Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago as the weather service issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region as high temperatures in many places were expected only to rise into the single digits Monday and Tuesday. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
A pedestrian crosses as a pickup truck equipped with a snow plow waits at the traffic signal after a winter storm plunged daytime high temperatures into the single digits and left up to six inches of snow in its wake Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Passengers check-in for their flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm that will close both of Houston's airports Tuesday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip))
Passengers wait to check-in for their flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm that is expected to bring several inches of snow and will close both of Houston's airports on Tuesday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip))
Kyle Foss holds his son Kasen as they slide behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School in Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, with their family and friends. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)
Vehicles pass a sign displaying Winter storm related operations Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of predicted several inches of snow and possibly ice in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A person stands on ice at Oak Street Beach along the shore of Lake Michigan to take pictures before the sunrise Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago, as the weather service issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region as high temperatures in many places were expected only to rise into the single digits Monday and Tuesday. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
A motorist clears snow from a utility vehicle after a winter storm plunged daytime high temperatures into the single digits and left up to six inches of snow in its wake Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Hailee Morin holds her child, Guide Monday morning as they zip down the hill behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, with their family and friends. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)
A cyclist navigates 13th Avenue after a winter storm plunged daytime high temperatures into the single digits and left up to six inches of snow in its wake Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Kristina Foss holds onto her daughter Kayleigh as they plow through snow at the bottom of the hill behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, with family and friends. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)