The USA has appealed to the People’s Republic of China and other countries to stop Iran from attacking Israel. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken telephoned counterparts in China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Europe about the latest Iranian threats, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller announced in Washington. Blinken emphasized that “escalation is in no one’s interest” and that countries should influence Iran accordingly.
Blinken also reportedly called Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to “reaffirm our strong support for Israel against these threats.” US President Joe Biden had already assured Israel of the US’s “unwavering” support on Wednesday.
US warning to Iran
According to the White House, the US government also sent a direct warning to Tehran in view of the Iranian threats. “We have warned Iran,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday.
Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, threatened Israel on Wednesday with retaliation for an attack on an Iranian consular building in the Syrian capital Damascus that killed 16 people in early April. Two generals from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were among the dead.
Israel’s “evil regime”
In a speech, Khamenei said that Israel’s “evil regime” “must be and will be punished.” President Ebrahim Raisi and a high-ranking adviser to Khamenei had previously made such threats. Israel responded to the threats by increasing military readiness.
Iran supports the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip with its unprecedented major attack on Israel on October 7th. According to Israeli reports, 1,170 people were killed in the attack and 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Israel has taken massive military action in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, more than 33,500 people were killed.
