WASHINGTON, July 12: The US blamed Iran and Syria on Wednesday for the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah militants and for the Israeli military response.

Eight Israeli soldiers have also been killed in a cross-border attack that Israel has called an act of war by Lebanon.

“We also hold Syria and Iran, which have provided long-standing support for Hezbollah, responsible for today’s violence,” said a statement released by the White House. “We call for the immediate and unconditional release of the Israeli soldiers.”

Condemning the attack in ‘strongest possible terms’, the White House said ‘this unprovoked act of terrorism … was timed to exacerbate already high tensions in the region and sow further violence’.

The White House noted that Hezbollah’s terrorism was not in the interest of the Lebanese people, ‘whose welfare should not be held hostage to the interests of the Syrian and Iranian regimes.

“We reiterate the international community’s insistence that all parties in the region fulfill their obligations under UN Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1680, and cease all support for Hezbollah,” the statement added.

Frederick Jones, a spokesman for the National Security Council which is based in the White House, told reporters that Hezbollah had also launched ‘unprovoked’ rocket attacks on civilian targets in Israel as part of its offensive.

He said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a diplomatic trip to Paris, had been in direct contact with the parties in the region with the purpose of holding Hezbollah accountable for its action.

“Hezbollah’s continued impunity to arm itself and carry out operations from Lebanese territory is a direct threat to the security of the Lebanese people and the sovereignty of the Lebanese government,” Mr Jones said.

Separately, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist also blamed Iran and Syria, which are on the United States’ list of state sponsors of terror, for the attacks.

“We must hold the governments of Syria and Iran accountable for their continued support to Hezbollah. So long as these governments are failing to live up to their responsibilities, no one should question the right of the government of Israel to act in self-defense against terrorists operating from Lebanon,” Mr Frist said.

Mr Frist added that the Lebanese government must also live up to its responsibility under UN resolutions to ensure its territory isn’t used as a safe haven by Hezbollah and other groups.

Syria’s vice president, Farouk al-Sharaa, however, blamed Israel for the violence both in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories and denied that his country had a role in the abductions of the soldiers.

“For sure, the occupation (of the Palestinian territories) is the cause provoking both Lebanese and Palestinian people, and that’s why there is Lebanese and Palestinian resistance,” he said.