"If the United States continues what it has been doing so far, then new fronts will be opened up against the United States," said Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian. He denied that Iran had instructed groups in Syria and Iraq to target US forces in recent days
Iran's foreign minister warned that new fronts would open against the US if it keeps up unequivocal support for Israel, escalating a rhetorical back-and-forth that has stoked fears the Israeli conflict with Hamas will spread into a wider regional war.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian declined to detail the consequences Iran might have in store. He refuted reports that Iran had given factions in Syria and Iraq orders to attack US soldiers in the last few days, claiming that Washington, not Tehran, was inciting violence in the wake of Hamas's onslaught on Israel that claimed almost 1,400 lives and prompted Israeli airstrikes in retaliation.
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In an interview, Amirabdollahian stated, "The US is advising others to show self-restraint, but it has sided with Israel totally. If the United States continues what it has been doing so far, then new fronts will be opened up against the United States."
"I would like to warn right here that the continuation of the situation, the continuation of the killing of the people in Gaza - women and children - will make the situation get out of control in the region," he stated. "The American side should decide - does it really want to escalate, intensify the war?"
According to him, organisations targeting US military in Syria and Iraq are operating on their own initiative without guidance from Tehran.
Amirabdollahian declared, "They're not getting any orders or instructions from us." According to the American perspective, these have anything to do with Iran. These groupings make their own autonomous decisions."
The potential consequences of Israel launching a full-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in an attempt to destroy Hamas following the group's incursion on October 7—which the US and the EU have classified as a terrorist organization—have also drawn attention. Thousands of people have already died as a result of airstrikes on Gaza, and the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Friday demanding a ceasefire.