On Thursday, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that opening a “new front” against Israel would depend on Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Although Tehran, whose government supports Hamas and other Middle East militant groups, has been a long-term supporter of Hamas, Iranian officials have been adamant that the nation had no involvement in the militants’ attack against its arch-foe Israel on Saturday.
The United States, Nevertheless, worries the opening of a second front on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon if Hezbollah, another heavily armed militant group backed by Iran, were to intervene.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said, “Officials of some countries contact us and ask about the possibility of a new front (against Israel) being opened in the region.”
According to a statement from the Iranian foreign ministry, he said, “We tell them that our clear answer regarding future possibilities is that everything depends on the actions of the Zionist regime in Gaza.”
“Even now, Israel’s crimes continue and no one in the region asks us for permission to open new fronts.”
At least 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas militants during Saturday’s attack.
Health officials in Gaza reported 1,417 Palestinians killed by Israel’s retaliatory barrages against the coastal enclave.
The West has been worried about Iran since Saturday, but its leaders have alerted Tehran in no uncertain terms against intervening in the battle.
Joe Biden, the President of the United States, said on Wednesday that he had “made it clear to the Iranians: Be careful”.
Amir-Abdollahian, after Iraq, will travel to Lebanon, where Hezbollah has, so far, been content to hold back from entering the battle.
