While Washington, Beijing, Brussels, Paris, Ankara and even Moscow are working to avoid a general conflagration in the Middle East, the latest message from Tehran does not go in the direction of appeasement. Iran warned on Monday of possible “preventive action” against Israel “in the coming hours”, as the Israeli army prepares to launch a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip in its war against Hamas .
This threat, however, is not a surprise. Tehran has repeatedly warned that a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip would provoke a response on other fronts. Iran also applauded Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, while specifying that it was not involved in it.
Race against time for a political solution
“The possibility of preemptive action by the axis of resistance is expected in the coming hours,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on state television, referring to his meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday. On Monday, the head of Iranian diplomacy affirmed that this “axis of resistance” – the informal name for states and organizations that are enemies of Israel and the West – would not allow the Jewish state “to do what it wants to Gaza.”
The same day, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also warned that time was running out to reach a political solution, and warned against extending the war between Israel and Hamas to other fronts.
Clashes have increased in recent days on the border with Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel. They left around ten dead on the Lebanese side, mostly fighters but also a Reuters journalist and two civilians. On the Israeli side, at least two people were killed.