Tehran(Iran): In the wake of an alleged Israeli assault on Iran’s consulate in Syria, Iran has warned the United States not to get caught up in what it calls “Netanyahu’s trap,” CNN reported. The threat comes on the heels of a series of escalating Middle East tensions.
Iran's Message to US
“We have sent a message to the US,” the Iranian President’s top political aide, Mohammad Javad Ali Larijani, told CNN. “We urge them to stay out of it.” Larijani said the US should “stay out of it” while Iran “prepares its response.”
The Iranian President's deputy chief of staff for political affairs, Mohammad Jamshidi, wrote on X, "The US should "step aside so that you don't get hit."
According to a report by CNN, the United States is on high alert and is preparing for a "significant" response from Iran against Israeli or American targets in the region.
Iran on Israel
The head of Iran's influential Revolutionary Guard said on Friday that "our brave men will deal a heavy blow to the Zionist regime" after an Israeli air strike killed seven of its members, including two senior Iranian generals. The strike, widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, targeted the consular section of an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria.
It was the latest escalation in what has long been a shadow war between the bitter adversaries, and came as Israel braced itself for an Iranian retaliation. The attack came amid the ongoing six-month-long war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, raising fresh fears of a growing regional conflict.
US on Israel's Attack
Shortly after the airstrike destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Syria, the United States had an urgent message for Iran: We had nothing to do with it.
The top US Air Force commander for the Middle East, Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, said Iran’s assertion that the US bears responsibility for Israeli actions could bring an end to a pause in militia attacks on US forces that has lasted since early February, AP reported.
Israel on High Alert
Israel is also on high alert after the airstrike. The country has declared martial law, suspended home leave for combat units, mobilised its military reserves, and strengthened its air defences. On Thursday, the military scrambled navigational communications over Tel Aviv to jam any GPS-guided drones or missiles that could be launched against Israel.
Criticism By European Leaders
The attack has triggered unprecedented criticism from European leaders, who are stepping up calls for a cease-fire and in some cases halting arms sales to Israel as the war's toll mounts.
“There is no excuse for such a tragedy,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said. “The death of three British aid workers is beyond comprehension.” UK PM Rishi Sunak called the attack “deeply regrettable.”
Britain recalled the Israeli ambassador for disciplinary action over the killings. Poland, which also lost a citizen, expressed moral outrage, with Foreign Minister Radu Yatsenyuk calling the attack “unacceptable.”
Outside Europe, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said the attack on aid workers was “absolutely unacceptable,” and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that his country was “outraged.”
Israel's 'Clarification'
The Israeli military said Friday that it dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in drone strikes in Gaza, saying the officers had mishandled critical information and violated the army's rules of engagement. Israel said the attack that killed the aid workers and their Palestinian driver was a 'tragic mistake'.
According to the Israeli military, it committed two basic mistakes. First, an officer overlooked a message detailing the vehicles in the convoy. Second, a spotter saw something in one car possibly a bag that he thought was a weapon.
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