Tehran, Iran – Iran has warned Israel of regional escalation if the Israeli army enters Gaza for a floor invasion because the battle with Hamas enters its second week.
“If the measures geared toward instantly stopping the Israeli assaults which can be killing youngsters within the Gaza Strip finish in a impasse, it’s extremely possible that many different fronts shall be opened. This feature is just not dominated out and that is turning into more and more extra possible,” Iranian Overseas Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian instructed Al Jazeera on Sunday.
“If the Zionist entity [Israel] decides to enter Gaza, the resistance leaders will flip it right into a graveyard of the occupation troopers,” he added.
For the reason that Palestinian armed group Hamas launched an unprecedented assault contained in the Israeli territory on October 7, Israeli air strikes have killed greater than 2,670 individuals – 1 / 4 of them youngsters – and wounded practically 10,000 others in Gaza, the place a catastrophic humanitarian disaster is unfolding.
The United Nations estimates a million individuals – practically half of Gaza’s inhabitants – have been compelled from their properties, because the Israeli army prepares for an anticipated floor invasion.
No less than 1,400 individuals, together with 289 troopers and a few international nationals, have been killed on the Israeli aspect, officers stated on Sunday.
Tehran has rejected claims it was straight concerned within the Hamas assault on Israel final weekend.
Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday met with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar, the place they mentioned the Gaza disaster “and agreed to proceed cooperation”, Hamas stated in an announcement.
Additionally on Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated all Islamic nations have an obligation to come back to the help of the Palestinians.
With God’s grace, this motion that has began in #Palestine will advance and lead to an entire victory for the Palestinians.
Imam Khamenei
Oct. 14, 2023 pic.twitter.com/euuXmBfV7G— Khamenei Media (@Khamenei_m) October 14, 2023
Iran has additionally engaged in a diplomatic offensive in an effort to cease the Israeli assaults on Gaza.
Amir-Abdollahian additionally visited Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, the place he met President Bashar al-Assad after Israel bombed the airports in Aleppo and Damascus.
Earlier on Sunday, the Iranian minister met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha.
“If the assaults of the Zionist regime towards civilians and the defenceless individuals of Gaza persist, nobody can assure that the state of affairs shall be beneath management and the scope of the combating gained’t broaden,” he instructed Qatar’s emir, who additionally earlier held a phone dialog with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Amir-Abdollahian reiterated Tehran’s name for an pressing assembly of the international ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Gaza.
Regional energy Saudi Arabia has reportedly put its normalisation talks with Israel on maintain, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday holding talks with the Iranian president on the Israel-Hamas battle – their first cellphone name since restoring diplomatic ties.
In the meantime, Israel can be making ready for the likelihood that the battle might broaden to a number of fronts. It stated it bombed the airports in Syria to cease potential Iranian mobilisation efforts there.
On Sunday, Israel declared its border with Lebanon a closed army zone as clashes with Hezbollah continued.
On Saturday, the US-based information web site Axios reported that Iran has warned Israel by way of the UN that it doesn’t need the Gaza battle to escalate, however must reply if Israeli strikes proceed.
Iran has not formally commented on the Axios report.
The Iranian media have extensively coated the latest developments, particularly the losses suffered by Israel for the reason that Hamas assaults final week.
Within the first few days of the battle, a number of Iranian newspapers used a picture of Palestinians standing on high of a captured Israeli tank and waving the Palestinian flag as their entrance web page cowl.
“Mortal wound” – stated a headline in “Iran”, the official newspaper of the federal government, which in its op-ed stated scenes created by Hamas within the occupied territories “appeared apocalyptic” and confirmed “cowardly Zionists working away”.
Kayhan, the ultraconservative newspaper whose editor-in-chief is straight appointed by Ayatollah Khamenei, stated 4 “catastrophes” await Israel if it decides to go forward with a floor assault on Gaza: sustaining heavy casualties because of the complexities of city warfare; risking the lives of dozens of Israelis taken captive by Hamas; going through mounting stress from the worldwide neighborhood; and rising “regional isolation” as normalisation hopes fade.
Khorasan, one other conservative newspaper, went with “The Unprecedented Humiliation of the ‘Dropping Horse’” as its essential headline earlier this week – a reference to feedback made by Khamenei, who warned that any nation that decides to normalise relations with Israel will have interaction in a “shedding gamble”.
“Because the Europeans say, they’re betting on the shedding horse,” Khamenei had stated.
However highlighting the large hit inside Israeli territory and the way it retaliated by concentrating on civilians in Gaza was not restricted to conservative newspapers solely. Extra average and reformist media shops additionally raised related points of their protection of the battle.
“Israel’s Black Saturday” was the headline within the reformist Shargh, whereas Etemad detailed how Hamas had “attacked the guts of occupied Palestine”.
Etemad additionally underlined the two.2 million Gazans in peril and Israel’s “unattainable” order for over a million to flee northern Gaza because it minimize off their water, electrical energy and web. The newspaper additionally condemned Israel’s unlawful use of white phosphorus on civilians in Gaza and Lebanon.
“The political situation inside Israel is shortly turning towards [Israeli PM] Benjamin Netanyahu and the ruling coalition as a consequence of hit the Zionist regime took from the resistance forces,” it wrote.
