TEHRAN: Iran warned on Sunday that “no one can guarantee” control of the situation if Israel invades Gaza, ahead of an expected ground offensive by Israeli forces.
“If the attacks of the Zionist regime (Israel) against the defenceless citizens and people of Gaza continue, no one can guarantee the control of the situation and the non-expansion of the conflicts,” Iran’s foreign ministry quoted Foreign Minster Hossein Amirabdollahian as saying during his meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
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Earlier, a senior Israeli official accused Iran of trying to open a second war front by deploying weapons in or through Syria as Israel steps up a counter-offensive in Gaza to the south.
Responding to a post of the X social-media platform that posited such a scenario, Joshua Zarka, head of strategic affairs for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said: “They (Iranians) are.” The original post also said “the Israelis are determined to prevent” such developments. To that, Zarka responded” “We are.” Syria accused Israel of carrying out strikes against Damascus and Aleppo airports last week.
On Saturday, Amirabdollahian called on Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza, warning that the war might expand to other parts of the Middle East if Hezbollah joins the battle, and that would make Israel suffer “a huge earthquake.”
Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut that Lebanon’s Hezbollah group has taken all the scenarios of a war into consideration and Israel should stop its attacks on Gaza as soon as possible.
Israel considers Hezbollah its most serious immediate threat, estimating it has some 150,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles that can hit anywhere in Israel. The group, which has thousands of battle-hardened fighters who participated in Syria’s 12-year conflict, also has different types of military drones.
Hezbollah fighters have been on full alert along Lebanon’s borders with Israel following last Saturday’s attack by the militant Palestinian group Hamas that left hundreds of Israeli civilians and soldiers dead.
