Just ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, Iran’s military warned on Sunday that if the US continues attacks on the Islamic Republic, it will lead to a further war in the Middle East.
The stern warning came as there was no US attack on Iran for the second consecutive night. That followed nightly attacks and retaliation from Tehran for nearly two weeks, targeting America’s allies in the Middle East but not Israel, which remained out of the fighting.
‘We also stopped our counter operations’
Iran said on Sunday that it has also stopped retaliatory attacks in the region after the US stopped attacks on the country for the last two nights. “Since … our strategy has been mainly retaliatory, we have also stopped our retaliatory operations,” army spokesman Mohammad Akarminiya said. He confirmed that there had been no US strikes in the last 48 hours.
Earlier, he said on state television that he believed Israel was trying to provoke the US to resume attacks.
Akraminiya said, “I believe that if the Americans once again fall for the Zionists’ deception, or go along with them, and insist on continuing the war, then geographically this war will spread further.”
He said the war has already spread to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea. He noted recent military tensions between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia.
“The scope of our operations now spans the entire region, from US bases in Jordan to the Persian Gulf countries,” he said. Akraminiya said the situation for the US in the Middle East is “difficult and unstable” and speculated that Washington is now looking for a “new strategy”. He further said, “We are prepared for every option and situation that is likely to occur.”