Amid efforts by several Middle Eastern countries to reduce tensions in the war between Israel and Hamas, Iran threatens a new regional escalation. The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, demanded this Tuesday the “immediate” stop of the Israeli “genocide” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The president made his first statements since Israel announced an imminent land, sea and air offensive on the territory, which has already caused the death of 2,800 civilians. A third of the victims are children, although it is believed that the figure could be much higher due to the difficulty of the Gazan emergency services to work on the ground, after days without access to gasoline, water or electricity, after the blockage of supplies by part of Israel. The Hamas surprise attack on the other hand, caused the death of 1,400 Israelis. “We must respond, we must react to what is happening in Gaza,” Khamenei warned, after pointing out that the Israeli authorities should be tried for “crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.”
Tehran is a regional supporter of Hamas and has made no secret of its moral and financial support for the group. Together with its Lebanese ally, the Shiite Hezbollah party – which has a political and an armed arm – Iran has proxy forces in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and constantly threatens Israel, its main enemy in the region.
Several investigations indicate that for years Tehran has supported the Palestinian group at a logistical level and has provided help in the construction of tunnels in Gaza, through which they traffic weapons but also food and other supplies blocked by Israel. “If the crimes committed by the Zionist regime continue, no one will be able to stop the Muslims and the resistance forces,” the ayatollah warned.
The supreme leader’s statements come one day before the US president’s visit to Israel, amid the escalation of tensions and the wait for the Israeli Army’s imminent ground offensive in Gaza. Khamenei noted that no country should have expectations that “Iran will stop certain resistance groups,” referring to the regional forces that Tehran supports.
When Hamas launched its attack on Israel, Khamenei celebrated the “irreparable” military defeat of Israeli intelligence, although he denied being involved in preparing the attack. “We kissed the hands of those who planned the attack on the Zionist regime,” Khamenei said, showing the camera a Palestinian scarf. “The Zionist regime’s own actions are to blame for this disaster,” he added.
Since the start of the war, the Iranian authorities have warned about a war escalation in which other actors could intervene, although they have reiterated that they have no intention of entering the war directly. Last Monday, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Ami Abdolahian, warned of possible “preventive action” in the coming hours by “resistance” groups against Israel if it continues to bomb Gaza, without giving more details about which group he was referring to. Tehran also began a round of talks with allied countries and groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Qatar. In Doha, Abdollahian warned that if Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip do not stop, it is “very likely that many other fronts will open.” And he added: “This option is not ruled out and is increasingly likely.” The head of Iranian diplomacy believes that the “absence of a political solution” can cause “things to get out of control.”
At the moment, the Hamas ally causing Israel most immediate concern is Hezbollah, which has been launching missiles from its southern border into the Israeli side for a week. At least 16 people have died in the last 10 days from the impact of missiles from the Lebanese side and the Israeli side, including several soldiers, militants, but also a journalist from the international agency Reuters.
Israel has evacuated towns near its border with Lebanon, while dozens of Lebanese families residing in the south have fled to other cities in the country. This is the largest escalation since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, although it is not yet properly considered a new front in the war. For its part, Israel has also issued warnings to Iran, with attacks on its proxies. The Israeli army has bombed airports in Syria twice, leaving the capital’s airfield out of service, hours before Bashar Assad received a visit from Iranian Foreign Minister Abdolahian.