Another threat from Tehran
Iran: Israel has crossed red lines
October 29, 2023, 8:14 a.m
For days, Iran has been building up a threat to deter Israel from a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Now it is said from Tehran that the Israeli military has crossed “red lines”. Iranian Prime Minister Raisi announces possible consequences.
According to the Iranian president, Israel has crossed red lines with its attacks on Gaza. “The crimes of the Zionist entity, humanitarian and military, have crossed the red lines that could force everyone to act,” said Prime Minister Ebrahim Raisi in an interview with the Arabic broadcaster Al-Jazeera.
It is not the first threat that Iran’s political and military leadership has made against Israel and the USA since the major Hamas attack. Just two days ago, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), Hussein Salami, threatened Israel with defeat in the event of a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. “Let me tell you: Just as the staff of Moses became the dragon and thwarted the treachery of the Pharaohs, so Gaza (…) is the dragon that will devour the Zionists when they set foot on the ground,” the news agency quoted Tasnim salami.
Religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also praised the Hamas attack, but rejected direct involvement. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized in the evening that he did not know whether Iran was involved in planning the brutal terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7th. Netanyahu said he could not say whether Tehran was involved in the “micro-planning” in this particular case. However, he assumes that Iran finances 90 percent of Hamas’ military budget.
Without Iran, the Palestinian organization would not exist, emphasized Israel’s head of government. The same applies to the Hezbollah militia in neighboring Lebanon. In the war between Israel and Hamas, there are concerns that the pro-Iranian Hezbollah could also become more involved from Lebanon. Hezbollah is considered far more dangerous to Israel than Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip.
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Israel has been Iran’s declared archenemy. Tehran has been expanding its ties in the region since the 1990s to create an “axis of resistance” against Israel with the support of Shiite militias.