Iran has warned Israel of escalating the conflict if it fails to end its aggression against the Palestinians, and Iran’s foreign minister said other regional players are ready to act, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday, as quoted by Reuters.

“If the Zionist aggression does not stop, everyone’s hands in the region will be on the trigger,” Hossein Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to “destroy Hamas” as the army prepares to invade Gaza in search of Islamist militants whose deadly attacks on Israeli border towns have shocked the world.

“The responsibility for the possible opening of new fronts of resistance in the region and for any escalation of the war today lies squarely with the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel),” Amirabdollahian said.

Amirabdollahian met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar on Saturday, where they discussed the Palestinian militant group’s deadly attack in Israel “and agreed to continue cooperation” to achieve the group’s goals, Iran-backed Hamas said in a statement.

Earlier, during a telephone conversation with his counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called on France to help “prevent the oppression” of the Palestinians.

Iran’s foreign minister called on Israel on Saturday to end attacks on Gaza, warning that the war could spread to other parts of the Middle East if the Tehran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah movement joins the fight, a “huge blow” to Israel. earthquake,” the Times of Israel reported, citing News.ro.

Great US fears of Israel-Hamas war

The United States fears an escalating war between Israel and Hamas and the prospect of direct Iranian intervention, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS News on Sunday.

He admitted that there is a possibility of opening a new front of hostilities on the border between Israel and Lebanon. “We cannot rule out the possibility that Iran will choose direct intervention one way or another. We have to be ready for any situation,” Jake Sullivan said.

Iran is a long-time supporter of the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, providing them with funding and weapons.

“It’s a risk, and it’s a risk we’ve been aware of from the beginning,” Sullivan said, commenting on the prospect of Iran’s involvement in the war.

“That’s why the president acted so quickly and decisively to send an aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean, to send aircraft to the Persian Gulf, because it sent a very clear message to any state or any actor that would try to take advantage of this situation.” – explained Sullivan.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the deployment of the second aircraft carrier on Saturday “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any attempt to expand this war following the October 7 attack by Hamas.” In the eastern Mediterranean, the USS Eisenhower and escort ships will join the USS Gerald R. Ford, which was dispatched after the attack that killed 1,300 Israelis.

Sullivan acknowledged that the US is concerned that Iran could operate through proxies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which he said has significant military capabilities and a history of attacking the state of Israel. “In recent days, we have witnessed incidents on the northern border, which only increases the risk of escalation,” Sullivan commented.

Asked whether there were diplomatic contacts with Iran at the moment, the national security adviser clarified: “We have a means of private communication with Iran. And we have used those means in the last few days to privately clarify what we spoke publicly”.

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