Iran warned on Monday that “preemptive action” against Israel was possible “in the coming hours” as the Israeli military continues preparations to launch a large-scale ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

Tehran has repeatedly warned that a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip would trigger retaliation on other fronts, raising concerns of regional conflagration.

There is a “possibility of pre-emptive action by the axis of resistance” expected to unfold “in the coming hours,” Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said on state television. He was referring to the meeting he had with the leader of Lebanon’s Shiite movement Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, on Saturday.

Yesterday, Monday, Mr. Amirabdolakhian explained that the “axis of resistance” – the informal term refers to states and organizations hostile to Israel and the West – will not allow the Jewish state to “do what it wants in Gaza.”

Also yesterday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raishi warned that time is running out to reach a political solution and warned against spreading the Israel/Hamas war to other fronts.

Clashes have multiplied in recent days on the Israel-Lebanese border between Hezbollah and the Israeli army. The death toll on the Lebanese side stands at ten dead, among whom were fighters, but also a Reuters cameraman and two civilians. On the Israeli side, at least two people have been killed.

Israel declared war on Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement in power in the Gaza Strip, after its military wing launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israeli soil on October 7 that killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians. according to the Israeli military.

Israel has retaliated with a relentless pounding of the Gaza Strip, mostly from the air, with the death toll now reaching 2,750, mostly civilians, according to local authorities, as a ground invasion of the enclave is being prepared.

The leadership of the Islamic Republic applauded the attack by Hamas, however, clarifying that it had no involvement in it.