Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi issued an ominous warning to Israel and its partner, the United States, on Saturday, saying that the country had “crossed the red lines” in its ongoing confrontation with Hamas.
On October 7, Hamas led the worst Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history, prompting Israel to respond with its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. According to the Associated Press, nearly 1,400 people had been slain in Israel as of Sunday. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that over 8,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his country to be “at war” and cut off food, fuel, energy, and medicine supplies to Gaza. Israel has called up 360,000 army reservists in preparation for a possible ground incursion into the region, which has a population of about 2.3 million people.
Throughout the battle, Iran, a longtime foe of Israel, has been a key partner of Hamas, which the US considers a terrorist organisation. Whether or not the country expressly approved of the October 7 attack, its previous provision of finances and weapons to the extremist group is largely thought to have aided in its execution. Iran has denied any involvement in the incident.
On Saturday, Raisi sent a statement via his official account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, accusing Israel of crossing “red lines” and criticising the United States for its continuous backing of the country.
His statement was; “Zionist regime’s crimes have crossed the red lines, which may force everyone to take action,” his statement read. “Washington asks us to not do anything, but they keep giving widespread support to Israel. The US sent messages to the Axis of Resistance but received a clear response on the battlefield.”
Raisi’s statement did not go into greater detail about what she meant by “red lines.” Other recent statements from Iran’s president with similar messages have not clarified that point, but in a statement published Sunday by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, Raisi accused the United States of hypocrisy in its support for Israel.
“Americans who claim human rights, who equip and support this fake and anti-human regime with military equipment for crimes in Gaza, what answer do they have to their nation and the nations of the world for these actions?” the statement from Raisi read.
Raisi’s statement on Saturday also mentioned the “axis of resistance,” which NPR defines as “an informal, loose-knit alliance” in the Middle East region “supported to varying degrees by Iran.” This group includes Hamas, Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group that the US also considers a terrorist organisation, the Syrian government, and numerous other groups and governments.
