Iran promises to ignore US warnings regarding Israel

President Ebrahim Raisi declared that Washington’s insistence that Tehran refrain from intervening in the fight with Hamas is “invalid.”

President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran has declared that Tehran will defy US advice not to get involved in the dispute between Hamas and Israel. He also called out the West for supposedly not wanting to contribute to putting a stop to the fighting.

Raisi stated that Washington “is asking us not to move while providing broad support to the Zionist entity” in a Saturday interview with Al Jazeera from Qatar. This requirement is not legitimate.

Israel’s increased ground operations in Gaza, according to the Iranian president, were a failure. He referred to it as “the second victory [for Palestinians] following [the launch of] Operation al-Aqsa Storm,” which was Hamas’ original surprise strike on Israel on October 7.

Additionally, he stated that the United States had conveyed messages to the “Axis of Resistance,” an unofficial coalition of forces in the Middle East hostile to both the West and Israel, and that they “received a practical and public answer on the ground.”

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Raisi continued, branding such actions as “a crime” and accusing the US and a few other unidentified European nations of “obstructing the ceasefire in Gaza.” Tehran’s support for the Palestinians “is not subject to compromise,” he emphasised, adding that “the United States’ calculations in the region are completely wrong, and said it will not achieve its goals with a new Middle East.”

US President Joe Biden vowed to back Israel without conditions following the Hamas attack on Israel earlier this month, but he also cautioned Iran to exercise caution. Meanwhile, a number of US media sites reported that the State Department had sent a memo to its diplomats telling them not to advocate for “de-escalation” or a “ceasefire” in Gaza. Despite this, he did not support an end to hostilities.

In public, Biden has stated that until Hamas releases more than 200 hostages, ceasefire negotiations cannot start. Josep Borrell, the head of EU foreign policy, asked for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting on Monday and stated that he thought all of the bloc’s members agreed on the issue.

Raisi’s remarks follow Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s threat to the US that if it does not alter its Middle East policy, particularly its unwavering backing for Israel, “new fronts will be opened up” against Washington.