Iran Officials Warn US Following Israel’s Attack
The officials warned the United States not to intervene in the escalating conflict after Tehran launched hundreds of drones and missiles.
Iran on Sunday warned Israel and the United States that it would carry out a larger attack if either country retaliates against Tehran’s overnight missile and drone attack, saying that U.S. military bases could be in its crosshairs.
Iran launched explosive drones and shot missiles at Israel late on Saturday in what has been described as its first direct attack on Israel. The regime has said that the attack was warranted after Israel’s bombing a Syrian compound in early April that left seven members of its Revolutionary Guard Corps dead.
President Ebrahim Raisi sent a message praising Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard for launching the attack, saying it had taught a lesson to Israel. He also warned that “any new adventure against the interests of the Iranian nation would be met with a heavier and regretful response from the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The general and other Iranian officials then claimed that Iran’s “operations are over” and that Tehran has “no intention to continue them” before claiming the attack successfully hit two Israeli bases.
Also Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said his country has no intention of continuing the military operation against Israel. “At this juncture, the Islamic Republic of Iran has no intention of continuing defensive operations,” he wrote on X, and he added: “But if necessary, it will not hesitate to protect its legitimate interests against any new aggression.”
Response
The U.N. Security Council announced it called an emergency meeting for 4 p.m. EDT on Sunday after the attack, according to Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan in a letter. “The gravity and volume of the attacks is unprecedented,” he said.
“I strongly condemn the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran this evening,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement issued on Saturday night, calling for an end to the hostilities.
“I am deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation. I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East,” he wrote, adding that his office has “stressed that neither the region nor the world can afford another war.”
Meanwhile, leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, or G7, will hold a video conference Sunday to discuss an unprecedented Iranian attack against Israel.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, whose country holds the G7 rotating presidency, wrote on X: “We express strong concern about a further destabilization of the region and continue to work to avoid it,” while President Joe Biden said the meeting is “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
