Situation in Middle East more dangerous now than in 1973 - US Secretary of State Blinken

"I would argue that we have not seen a situation as dangerous as the one we're facing now across the region since at least 1973. And arguably, even before that," Blinken said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington.

"And that is the environment in which we're operating."

On Oct 6, 1973, a coalition of Arab states, led by Egypt and Syria, attacked Israel unexpectedly on Yom Kippur, one the holiest days in the Jewish calendar. The conflict, known as the Yom Kippur War, lasted 19 days.

Fighting took place mainly in the Sinai Peninsula and on Golan Heights. Israeli records indicate more than 2,600 of its soldiers were killed and more than 7,000 injured.

Three US soldiers were killed and about two dozen others were injured in a drone attack on a US military facility in Jordan on Sunday, fuelling fears of a widening crisis in the Middle East.

US President Joe Biden said the attack "was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq" and threatened to retaliate. The Iranian government on Monday denied any involvement.

Security fears in the entire Middle East have increased due to Israel's ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. The US has repeatedly emphasised that it does not want to see the conflict spreading and becoming a regional war.

Since the start of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas in October, pro-Iranian militias have carried out almost daily attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria. The US government has responded with air strikes in both countries.

In addition, Yemen's Houthi rebels - in solidarity with Hamas - have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea. In response, the US and Britain, with the support of other allies, have carried out military strikes against the Iranian-backed militia in Yemen.

-- BERNAMA