[News] Iran says attacks by its allies will not stop

[Mr.Daniel]

Attacks by Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East will not stop until Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza ends, Tehran's top diplomat warned on Wednesday, as tensions in the Middle East threaten to spiral into a broader conflict.

"If the genocide in Gaza stops, other crises and attacks in the region will end," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. .

ANALYSIS | Why did Iran attack targets in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan and how does it relate to the conflict in Gaza?
Abdollahian's comments echo the stated objectives of the various armed groups in the Iranian influence network.

Since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza, the extremist group Hezbollah has maintained daily clashes with Israeli forces on the Lebanese-Israeli border.

 

Houthi rebels have launched a series of attacks on Western commercial ships and military vessels in the Red Sea, the main artery of international trade. And Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria have launched dozens of targeted attacks on U.S. military positions in those countries, prompting several close calls.

Tension rises between Israel and Lebanon over Hezbollah
On Sunday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah stated for the first time that clashes on the Lebanon-Israel border, which have intensified in recent weeks, "would not end" before a ceasefire in Gaza.

Iran entered the fray more directly earlier this week, when it fired ballistic missiles at what it claimed was a spy base of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in Erbil, northern Iraq, in response to what it said were Israeli attacks that killed commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and members of the Iranian resistance front. Iraq denied that there were Mossad bases in Erbil; Israel has not commented on the attacks.

 

Iran also launched missile strikes in Syria and Pakistan against what it described as terrorist groups it blamed for deadly attacks inside Iran in recent weeks. Pakistan strongly condemned the Iranian attacks and warned that it could retaliate.

Abdollahian said Wednesday that Iran had "very good relations" with Iraq and Pakistan, adding that "we have talked and agreed on several occasions about the need to fight terrorism."

 

Clashes across the Middle East have peaked in recent days following US strikes in Yemen that sought to degrade the Houthis' ability to attack the vital sea route. On Wednesday, the United States also designated the Houthis as a terrorist group.

Biden Administration Expected to Redesignate Houthis as a Global Terrorist Entity
The Houthis have maintained a defiant tone. "The operations of our naval forces in the Red and Arabian Seas will continue to target Israeli vessels linked to the enemy entity," said Hizam al-Assad, a member of the Houthi politburo. "As long as the American-Zionist aggression and siege against our people in Gaza continues, the attacks will not stop."

 

In statements made this Wednesday, State Department spokesman Matt Miller stated that the Middle East had not yet entered into a large-scale conflict.

"We continue to make diplomatic efforts to try to make clear to everyone in the region that we do not want the conflict to escalate, that we do not believe that it is in the interest of any country to escalate the conflict," Miller said Wednesday.

 

However, also on Wednesday, the Israeli chief of staff said the likelihood of war on Israel's northern front was "much greater" now and that Israel was increasing its preparation to "fight in Lebanon."

Does Iran's attack on Pakistan open a new focus of tension in the Middle East?
Israel Defense Forces chief Herzi Halevi made the comments while visiting a reservist exercise in northern Israel, near the Lebanese border.

"I don't know when the war will be in the north, I can tell you that the probability of it happening in the coming months is much higher than in the past," Halevi said.

Meanwhile, there are fears that the repercussions of the tensions have begun to spread beyond the Middle East. China called for restraint on Wednesday, saying it considered Iran and Pakistan "close neighbors and major Islamic countries."

 

"We call on both sides to exercise restraint, avoid actions that lead to an escalation of tension and collaborate to maintain peace and stability in the region," he said.

 

https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/