ANWAR AMRO / AFP
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian attends a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart here in Beirut, October 13, 2023.
INTERNATIONAL – With the resurgence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since this weekend, Iran is at the center of everyone’s attention due to its unconditional support for Hamas.
Although Tehran has long supported the Palestinian Islamist movement, Iranian leaders still claim they were not involved in the attack the country launched on Saturday against Israel, the Islamic Republic’s arch-enemy.
This Friday, October 13, the head of Iranian diplomacy, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, stated that the United States “must control Israel” if it wants to avoid a regional war.
“America wants to allow Israel to destroy Gaza, and that is a big mistake. If the Americans want to prevent the development of war in the region, they must control Israel,” he told the press during a trip to Beirut, Lebanon. “If Israeli crimes are not stopped, we don’t know what will happen,” he warned.
However, the minister stressed that “security and peace in Lebanon are important to us,” while there are grave fears that Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, could open a new front against Israel.
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The US fears the opening of a second front in northern Israel on the border with Lebanon if Hezbollah decides to intervene massively. Since the war began on October 7th, Hezbollah’s involvement in southern Lebanon has initially been limited to bombings on Israeli positions in the north with the aim of supporting Hamas.
During his trip to Beirut, the head of Iranian diplomacy also met the leader of Hezbollah. They “discussed the responsibilities that belong to all and the positions that must be taken in the face of historical events and recent developments,” Hezbollah said in a press release afterwards.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian reiterated that Iran’s regional allies (including Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas), informally known as the “Axis of Resistance,” could respond if the Israeli offensive in Gaza escalates.
Joe Biden raised his voice against Iran
The day before, the Iranian foreign minister had indicated from Baghdad, Iraq, that the opening of a “new front” against Israel in the Middle East would be contingent on the Israeli state’s “actions” in the Gaza Strip.
“Officials from some countries are asking us about the possibility of opening a new front (against Israel) in the region,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said. “Our clear response to these possibilities is that everything depends on the actions of the Zionist regime in Gaza,” he added, according to an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement. “Even now, Israel’s crimes continue and no one in the region asks us for permission to open new fronts.”
The West has been wary of Iran since Saturday and has raised its voice, warning it against an expansion of the conflict. US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he had “sent a clear signal to the Iranians: be careful.”
Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi called on “Muslim and Arab countries” to “coordinate” to “stop Israel’s crimes.” He spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday evening.
This Friday, thousands of Iranians also demonstrated in Tehran to show their support for the Palestinians.
Demonstrators waved Iranian, Palestinian and Hezbollah flags, chanted slogans and held banners reading “Down with America” and “Down with Israel,” an AFP journalist noted. Similar rallies took place in other cities across the country, where American and Israeli flags were burned.
The war between Israel and Gaza has already left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced in less than a week, as Israel prepares a likely offensive in Gaza.
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