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Iran’s Foreign Minister warned on Monday that a regional militia network known in parts of the Middle East as the “axis of resistance” would open “multiple fronts” against Israel if its attacks continued killing civilians in Gaza.
“Time is running out very quickly,” said official Hossein Amir Abdollahian, during a live televised interview with Iranian state television on Monday night. “If war crimes against the Palestinians are not stopped immediately, multiple other fronts will open and this is inevitable.”
Amir Abdollahian spoke after returning to Tehran from a tour of capitals aligned with or close to Iran. He met with Hamas’s top political official, Ismail Haniyeh, in Doha; Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut; and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria in Damascus.
In the interview, he said that in those meetings the leaders of what is regionally called “the resistance” told him that “they have their hand on the trigger” and said that “preventive action” was possible “in the next few hours.” because those leaders “would naturally not allow the Zionist regime to do whatever it wants in Gaza” and would then turn their attention to them.
And he added that any suggestion that Hezbollah would not enter the war because of Lebanon’s financial problems was false.
Since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 and retaliatory bombings on Gaza, officials in the United States, Europe and the United Nations have warned of the risk of a collateral conflict affecting the Middle East.
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire and engaging in limited attacks and counterattacks over the past week, and Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is being closely monitored as the first potential flash point where the war could spread. The United States and Israel have analyzed Hezbollah activity to determine whether it plans to launch a large-scale offensive against Israel, and officials say they believe the recent deployment of two American warships to the region will act as a deterrent.
The United States has tried to prevent any expansion of the war by sending messages through diplomatic intermediaries in Qatar, Oman and China to warn Iran not to enter the conflict and to emphasize that Washington is not seeking war with Tehran, according to US reports and Iranians. officials.
In the interview, Amir Abdollahian confirmed having received the messages from Washington and said that Ireland’s ambassador in Tehran was among the diplomatic liaisons. He said Iran’s response was that the United States could not ask others in the region to exercise restraint while Washington firmly backed Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and while an Israeli blockade continued that prevented humanitarian aid, including food, water and medicines.
“Time has completely run out for this type of messages from the United States,” said Amir Abdollahian. “I would like to warn that instead of sending misleading messages to each other, let us stop war crimes against women and children before it is too late.”
Iran’s ties to Hamas are under scrutiny because it remains the only state that has provided military support to the terrorist group. Iranian officials have publicly denied being involved in or ordering the attack, but have praised Hamas.
Amir Abdollahian affirmed that Iran did not give orders to the leaders of the “axis of resistance” and that they are autonomous in their decision-making. When asked by the state television news anchor if Iran would enter the war, he said: “Anything is possible. “I want to reiterate once again that neither party can remain indifferent to the continuation of these crimes.”