Iran’s President has warned that “everyone may have to act” if Israel ramps up its assault on Gaza, hinting at the possibility of a wider war in the Middle East.
Tweeting on Sunday, Ebrahim Raisi hit out at the US and Israel as ground operations intensify in Gaza.
He said: “The crimes of the Zionist regime have crossed the red lines, and this may force everyone to take action.
“Washington asks us to not do anything, but they keep giving widespread support to Israel.
“The US sent messages to the Axis of Resistance but received a clear response on the battlefield.”
READ MORE: ‘Hamas is 90 percent funded by Iran’ Netanyahu says
The Axis of Resistance refers to Iran’s allies in Hezbollah and Hamas.
Hamas killed 1,400 civilians and took over 200 hostages during their attack.
In response, Israel has heavily bombarded Gaza killing thousands of people, including Hamas commanders but also many civilians.
Iran financially supports groups like Hamas and Hezbollah in the Middle East.
This comes as the US also warns that there is an “elevated risk” of a wider conflict between Israel and other terror groups.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday: “We are vigilant, because we are seeing elevated threats against our forces throughout the region and an elevated risk of this conflict spreading to other parts of the region. We are doing everything in our power to deter and prevent that.”
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant has also said that while Israel isn’t looking for a wider conflict, they are having to prepare for it nonetheless.
He told ABC News: “We are not looking for bigger wars. But we are preparing ourselves against Iran and Hezbollah and have to be ready.”
Last week, rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based.
According to the IDF, the rockets fired were aimed at a number of towns as alarms were sounded in the areas.
