Axios reports that Iran has warned Israel it will take direct action to intervene should Israel launch a ground offensive in Gaza. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with UN envoy to the Middle East Tor Wennesland on Saturday in Beirut, according to diplomatic sources, to convey the message.
Iran's message, sent to Israel through the UN, comes as the Biden administration has been trying to deter Iran and Lebanon-backed Hezbollah, supported by Iran, from joining the war, even sending the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group to the Israeli coast to be ready for any hostile actions by Iran. Such a move by Iran, either by Iranian forces or a militant group such as Hezbollah, could expand the conflict to engulf the entire Middle East.
The UAE, recently aligned with Israel through the Abraham Accords, has sent a message warning Syria to refrain from active participation in the conflict.
According to Axios, Wennesland urged Amir-Abdollahian to help prevent a spillover of the conflict in Gaza and Israel to the wider region in the Middle East. The Iranian foreign minister replied that Iran doesn't want the conflict to turn into a regional war and wants to try and help with the release of civilians who are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. At the same time, he stressed that Iran has limits of its own - among them a ground offensive in Gaza. Should that happen, Amir-Abdollahian commented, Iran would be left with no choice but to intervene.
Wennesland in turn conveyed the message to Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and other officials. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office declined to comment. Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Amir-Abdollahian told the press that Israel must "stop the crimes against civilians in Gaza — because it might be too late in few hours. I know about the scenarios that Hezbollah has put in place, and any step the resistance will take will cause a huge earthquake."
Israel has continued its heavy bombardment of Gaza after Hamas' attack on Israel last Saturday. More than 1,300 Israelis and 2,200 Gazans have been killed.
Violence has also been increasing in Judea and Samaria regions, with several Palestinian Authority Arabs killed by Israeli security forces or armed civilians in the area since the invasion. Israel's government has begun deploying increased IDF presence to towns in Judea and Samaria, and distributing large numbers of advanced weapons to the population.