Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated this Friday (3) that Israel is becoming “defenseless and confused” as it maintains its military incursion into the Gaza Strip.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Khamenei also stated that the Israeli government was “lying” to its people when it expressed concern about hostages held by Hamas while it bombed areas where they could be held.
“Without American support,” Israel “will be silenced within days,” Khamenei said.
The statements were made days after the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi said that Israel had “crossed red lines” in Gaza, which “may force everyone to act”, amid warnings from a US national security adviser about an “elevated risk” of a conflict spilling over into the Middle East.
A CNN reported on Thursday (2) that the US intelligence community believes that Iran and its proxies are holding back a response to Israel’s military intervention in Gaza to avoid direct conflict with Israel or the US.
But the US is also acutely aware that Iran does not maintain perfect control over its umbrella of proxies – in particular over Lebanese Hezbollah, the largest and most capable of the various groups.
Hezbollah is an ally of Hamas, the group that attacked Israel on October 7, and positions itself as a fighter against Israel.
U.S. officials are deeply concerned that the group’s internal politics could cause Hezbollah to escalate simmering tensions.
The US also does not always have perfect visibility into communications between Iran and its various proxies, according to sources familiar with US intelligence in the region.
On Wednesday, Khamenei called on Muslim-majority countries to stop economic cooperation with Israel, including oil and food exports to the country, according to Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news agency.
See also: Iran will fuel paramilitary factions against Israel, says expert
Source: CNN Brasil
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