Iran’s top diplomat warned on Monday, October 16, that “preemptive measures” are likely very soon, stressing that any Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip would be met with a response. Iran expressed concern earlier in the day that the window for achieving a political solution in the Israel-Gaza conflict was narrowing, cautioning about the potential for the conflict to spill over and escalate.
Iran’s chief diplomat stated that “preemptive action” could be anticipated in the hours ahead, as reported by state TV on Monday. He further emphasized that Israel would not go unchallenged if it took any action in the Gaza Strip.
“Leaders of the Resistance will not allow the Zionist regime to take any action in Gaza. … All options are open and we cannot be indifferent to the war crimes committed against the people of Gaza,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, told state Television.
Abdollahian said chances for reaching a political solution in the Israel-Gaza conflict are narrowing, and warned of the “possibility of expanding the scope of war and conflict to other fronts”.
“Time is running out for political solutions” to the conflict, Abdollahian said in a post on his X account.
He added that he told his counterparts in Malaysia, Pakistan and Tunisia that the “probable spread of war to other fronts is approaching an inevitable stage”.
His remarks come as Israel readies for a land invasion into the long-blockaded Gaza Strip, where fears for Palestinians trapped in the heavily-bombarded enclave have grown since Israel launched its aerial campaign.
Israel declared war on the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas a day after waves of its fighters broke through Gaza’s heavily militarized border with Israel on October 7 and shot, stabbed and burned to death over 1,400 people, most of them civilians.
Israel has responded by pummeling the Gaza Strip with non-stop air and artillery strikes that have flattened neighborhoods and killed at least 2,750 people in Gaza, mostly civilians.
Iran celebrated the Hamas assault but insisted it was not involved.
Hamas backer, Iran, has repeatedly warned that a ground invasion of Gaza would be met with a response from other fronts, prompting fears of a wider conflict that could draw in other countries.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
