Iran warned that a ground invasion would have devastating consequences for Israel (file).
Iran’s foreign minister warned that new fronts would open against the United States if it continued to clearly support Israel, adding to a rhetorical back-and-forth that has stoked fears that Israel’s conflict with Hamas could develop into a larger regional one expand war.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian declined to elaborate on the consequences Iran could face. He denied that Iran had directed groups in Syria and Iraq to target U.S. forces in recent days, saying it was Washington – not Tehran – that had fueled the violence in the days since Hamas responded with punitive air strikes after killing around 1,400 people in an attack on Israel and Israeli forces.
“The US is advising others to show self-restraint, but they have completely sided with Israel,” Amirabdollahian said in an interview with Bloomberg Television from the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York. “If the United States continues as it has been doing, new fronts will be opened against the United States.”
“I would like to warn at this point that the continuation of the situation, the continuation of the killing of the people of Gaza – women and children – will lead to the situation in the region spiraling out of control,” he said. “The American side should decide – does it really want to escalate the war, make it worse?”
Amirabdollahian spoke less than a day after the U.S. said it had carried out military strikes on two Syrian facilities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that had been used to attack U.S. troops in the region. U.S. officials said they had no evidence that Iran specifically ordered these attacks, but they blame Iran for supporting the groups that carried them out.
He said groups attacking U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq were acting independently and had not received instructions from Tehran.
“They receive no orders, no instructions from us,” Amirabdollahian said. “The American side claims that these are linked to Iran. These groups decide independently.”
Attention also turned to the possible outcome if Israel proceeded with a full-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to eradicate Hamas following an Oct. 7 raid by the group, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. Airstrikes on Gaza have already killed thousands of people, and on Friday the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire.
Western officials fear Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon would launch a barrage of attacks that could overwhelm Israeli air defenses. On Friday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US had expressed concern to Israel about civilian casualties and collateral damage.
Amirabdollahian warned that a ground invasion would have devastating consequences for Israel. Israeli forces have stepped up their attacks in recent days, and the IDF said in a statement on Friday that they were preparing for “future phases of the operation” with expanded operations on the ground.
“The opening of new fronts will be inevitable and this will put Israel in a new situation that will make it regret its actions,” he said. “It has reached the point of explosion. Everything is possible and every front can be opened.”
The foreign minister said he had advised Hamas to release civilian prisoners held by the Palestinian group, which has released four hostages so far. Negotiations for the dozens more people who remain in captivity appeared to have stalled on Friday, with Israel warning people not to believe reports of progress.
“We have not sent any new troops to Syria or other parts of the region,” he said. “But we don’t just observe developments. In accordance with our national interests, the Islamic Republic of Iran will take measures.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)