FM warns of unavoidable conflict if Israel continue Gaza war

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has warned against an "unavoidable" spillover of Israel's war on Gaza if the Zionist regime continues its genocide of Palestinians in the besieged territory.

News ID: ۸۰۸۶۶۱

17 November 2023

n an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday, Amir-Abdollahian ruled out the possibility of Tehran's direct talks with Washington but said Iran had told the US through back channels that it did not want the Israeli war on Gaza to spread further.

He added that Iran and the US have exchanged messages since the beginning of Israel's genocide in Gaza some 40 days ago via the US interests section at the Swiss embassy in Tehran.

"In response to the US, we said that Iran does not want the war to spread, but due to the approach adopted by the US and Israel in the region, if the crimes against the people of Gaza and the West Bank are not stopped, any possibility could be considered, and a wider conflict could prove inevitable," Amir-Abdollahian emphasized.

Israel waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in retaliation for intensified Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

According to the Palestinian authorities, at least 11,500 Palestinians, including over 4,700 children and 3,155 women, have been killed and over 29,200 others injured in the Israeli strikes.

On November 6, Amir-Abdollahian told reporters that Tehran has received a new message from Washington claiming that the US seeks a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but they continue to support Israel’s genocide in the Palestinian territory in practice.

“The Americans … delivered a message to us in the past three days (claiming) that they are after ceasefire and have carried out efforts in this regard,” said the Iranian foreign minister, adding that “they, however, back mass killing and genocide” of people in Gaza. / MEHR