DOHA: Iran said on Tuesday it was “natural” for Tehran-backed groups to attack Israel in light of its war on Hamas, warning of a wider spillover if no ceasefire is reached.
The remarks were made by Iran’s top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Qatar’s capital Doha where he met with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and his Qatari counterpart to discuss a push for a diplomatic breakthrough.
“It is natural that the resistance groups and movements do not remain silent against all these crimes” committed by Israel, Amir-Abdollahian said in remarks relayed by his ministry.
“They will not wait for anyone’s advice, therefore we need to use the last political opportunities to stop the war,” he said after talks with Sheikh Tamim, warning the situation could “get out of control”.
Israel launched its assault in response to an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7 when its poured across the Gaza border, killing more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 230 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
Since then, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 8,500 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory, over 3,500 of them children.
In the face of the growing crisis, Iran-backed groups in Lebanon and Syria as well as Yemen have launched cross-border attacks that many fear could inflame the region.
Amir-Abdollahian’s statement came hours after Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for a drone attack on southern Israel, with the group vowing to continue its attacks.
Shortly afterwards, the Israeli military said its forces intercepted a “surface-to-surface missile” fired towards Israeli territory from the area of the Red Sea, saying it was “successfully intercepted” by the Arrow aerial defence system.
Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said the pair had discussed “the dangerous escalation of confrontations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank and the importance of advancing immediate ceasefire efforts”, in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“We also stressed the need to intensify regional efforts to prevent the expansion of violence and conflict in the region,” he said.
Both Iran and Qatar have been fierce supporters of the Palestinian cause and have open channels of communication with Hamas, the rulers of Gaza.
The wealthy Gulf emirate, which hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East, also hosts the political office of Hamas and is the main residence of its self-exiled leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported Amir-Abdollahian also met with the Haniyeh in Doha and “discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip”, before leaving Qatar for Turkey.