2024-04-11 23:09:08
This content was published on 11 April 2024 – 23:52
By Parisa Hafezi and Jonathan Landay
Dubai/Washington (Reuters) – Iranian sources said that Tehran conveyed to Washington that it will respond to the Israeli attack on its embassy in Syria in a manner aimed at avoiding a major escalation and that it will not rush, at a time when Iran is pressing to achieve demands that include establishing a truce in Gaza.
The sources said that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian conveyed Iran’s message to Washington during a visit on Sunday to the Sultanate of Oman, which often mediates between Tehran and Washington.
A White House spokesman declined to comment on any messages from Iran, but said that the United States conveyed to Iran that it did not participate in the attack on the embassy.
It has not yet been possible to obtain a comment from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Omani government has not yet responded to questions sent via email during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
A source familiar with American intelligence information said that he had no knowledge of the message transmitted through the Sultanate of Oman, and stated that Iran “was very clear” that its response to the attack on its embassy compound in Damascus would be “disciplined” and “non-escalatory” and included plans “to use proxies in the region to launch A number of attacks on Israel.”
Diplomatic messages indicate Iran’s cautious approach as it calculates how to respond to the April 1 attack in a way that deters Israel from further such actions but avoids a military escalation into which the United States might be drawn.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Israel “must be punished, and will be punished,” and that what happened was an attack on Iranian territory. Israel did not confirm its responsibility for the attack, but the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) said that Israel was responsible.
The attack, which killed a senior Iranian general, represents a major escalation in the violence that has spread in the region since the start of the Gaza war. Tehran has carefully avoided any direct role in the regional fallout, but has supported groups that have launched attacks from Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon.
Iran-backed Shiite factions have not attacked US forces in Syria and Iraq since early February.
One Iranian source did not rule out the possibility that members of the Iranian-backed resistance axis would attack Israel at any moment, an option that analysts pointed to as one possible means of response.
The sources said that Amir Abdullahian indicated during his meetings in Amman that Tehran was ready to reduce the escalation on the condition that demands were met, including a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, which Israel ruled out in its effort to crush the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
The sources said that Iran is also seeking to revive talks on its controversial nuclear program. These talks stopped about two years ago after the two sides exchanged accusations of making unreasonable demands.
The sources added that Tehran also requested guarantees that the United States would not intervene if Iran carried out a “controlled attack” on Israel, a demand that the United States rejected in its response via Amman.
The source familiar with American intelligence information said that Iranian retaliatory strikes would be “non-escalatory” towards the United States because the Iranians “do not want the United States to interfere,” and that Iran will not direct its factions in Syria and Iraq to target American forces in those countries.
The source added that the strikes directed by Iran against Israel will likely prompt Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to respond.
US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that Iran is threatening to launch a “major attack in Israel,” and that he told Netanyahu that “there is no doubt about our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies.”
Israel said it would respond to any attack from Iran.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a blog post on the X platform in Persian and Hebrew yesterday, Wednesday, “If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack inside Iran.”
1712889458
#Sources #Iran #aims #consequences #response #Israel