Israel “on the safe side”
Iranian politician is wary of expanding the war
November 18, 2023, 12:06 p.m
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There is great concern that the war in Gaza will spill over. After Iran’s foreign minister described an expansion into the region as “inevitable,” a close confidant of religious leader Ali Khamenei takes a stand. The ultra-conservative politician fears Iran will go to war with the USA.
An influential politician in Tehran has warned of Iranian involvement in the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas. “Those in Iran who want to go to war in Gaza should know that this is exactly what the Zionist regime (Israel) wants,” said Gholam-Hussein Hadad-Adel, a member of the so-called Arbitration Council, according to the daily Etemad. Iran’s involvement in the conflict would lead to a war between Iran and the United States, he said. “In that case they (Israel) would be on the safe side.”
Hadad-Adel is a member of the country’s ultra-conservative faction and is considered a close confidant of Iran’s religious leader Ali Khamenei. Therefore, his statements are generally in line with the positions of Khamenei, who, according to the constitution, has the final say on all strategic matters. The Arbitration Council is an important political body in Iran that mediates in legislative disagreements between parliament and the government.
A week ago, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian chose his harshest words since the beginning of the Gaza war. According to his own statements, he is convinced that the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas will not be limited to the Gaza Strip. “Due to the increasing intensity of the war against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, an expansion of the war has become inevitable,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a telephone conversation with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to his ministry’s website.
Since the beginning of the Gaza War, Iran has repeatedly reiterated its support for Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, but has vehemently denied direct involvement in the conflict. However, at demonstrations in Iran and also from military circles, there were calls to support Hamas on the war front. Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Israel has been Iran’s declared archenemy. However, observers believe that Iranian involvement in the war is unlikely because the country is in an economic crisis and cannot afford a military confrontation with Israel – and especially with its ally the USA.