US downplays risk of regional escalation as a result of Saleh al-Arouri assassination

The US's concern about regional escalation “is not any higher today” than it was before the Israeli assassination of Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, Lebanon, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Miller, who refused to confirm whether Israel carried out the strike, said Washington had not changed its threat perception about the war in Gaza spilling over into a regional conflict as a result of Arouri’s killing. 

He added that Washington believed the senior Hamas official was responsible for the 7 October attack on Israel.

Arouri has been on the US terrorist list since 2015 and had a $5m bounty placed on his head by Washington.