State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a regular news briefing the US was not involved in the incidents and did not know who was responsible. Lebanon’s Hezbollah threatened to punish Israel in response to the incidents.

“We are gathering information on this incident,” Miller said. “I can tell you that the US was not involved in it. The US was not aware of this incident in advance.”

“We’re collecting information in the same way that journalists are across the world, to gather the facts about what might have happened,” Miller added.

In response to a question, Miller said the US was always concerned about any incident that can raise tensions in Middle East and urged Iran not to take advantage of any incident to raise instability.

Miller also said that civilians were not legitimate targets for any type of operation.