Tehran : Iran said it asked the US to “step aside” as the country prepares a response to a suspected Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria while Hezbollah, its main proxy in the Middle East, warned the Jewish state it’s prepared for war.
In a written message to Washington, Iran “warned the US not to get dragged into Netanyahu’s trap,” Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, wrote on X, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The US should “step aside so that you don’t get hit.”
Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel, its arch-nemesis, but it remains unclear when or how this will happen. Iran could choose to attack Israel directly or through one of its proxy groups, such as Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, reported Bloomberg.
The airstrike in Damascus targeted the Iranian consulate, killing at least seven Iranians, including two generals. This was the first time an attack has struck an Iranian diplomatic building in Syria. Israel has been on high alert since the attack, calling up reserves, cancelling home leave for combat troops, and bolstering air defences.
Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has said that a response from Iran is imminent, but his group will not interfere in such decisions. He also highlighted the coordinated work of Iran’s resistance groups in the region.
Hezbollah, the Middle East’s most powerful militia, has not used its primary arsenal in the daily skirmishes with Israel along the southern border of Lebanon since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7. However, Nasrallah has emphasized that the group is “completely prepared and ready” for any war with Israel.