London, Thanasis Gavos

Tehran has told the US through side channels that it does not want the war between Israel and Hamas to spread, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian reveals in an interview with the Financial Times.

But it also warns Washington that regional conflict could become inevitable if Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip continue.

“For the past 40 days messages have been exchanged between Iran and the US, through the American interests section at the Swiss embassy in Tehran,” Mr. Amirabdolakhian said.

However, he ruled out the possibility direct talks between the two governments.

His main statement read: “In response to the US we said that Iran does not want war to spread, but because of the approach the US and Israel have taken in the region, if the crimes against the people of Gaza and the West Bank do not stop, any possibility could be considered and a wider conflict could prove inevitable.”

He appreciates that the conflict has already spread, citing Houthi involvement from Yemen and fighting Hezbollah and the Israeli military.

It also accuses Washington of calling on Tehran to show restraint while it itself is escalating the war with massive support for Israel. He also comments that the deployment of American forces in the region makes them “more vulnerable” to possible attacks.

The British newspaper reports that Iran has identified diplomatic opportunities as a product of the war to get closer to Arab and other countries in the region. In this light, the visit of the president of Iran Ibrahim Raishi to Riyadh for a meeting with the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is also interpreted.

The Iranian Foreign Minister himself has recently visited several countries in the region: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. He has also met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hossein Amirabdolakhian argues that armed Islamic organizations in Palestine, Iraq, Syria and Yemen are not controlled by Iran. As he says, each organization has its own independent political identity, but notes that “they are not indifferent to the killing of Muslims and Arabs in Palestine.”