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Iran warns of ‘inevitable expansion’ of Israel-Gaza war

Al Jazeera: An expansion of the scope of the war in Gaza is “inevitable” due to Israel’s heightened aggression, according to Iran’s foreign minister.

Hossein Amirabdollahian made the statement in a phone conversation with Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Iran’s Press TV reported on Friday.

“Due to the expansion of the intensity of the war against Gaza’s civilian residents, expansion of the scope of the war has become inevitable,” Amirabdollahian said.

It is unclear what he meant by an “inevitable expansion” of the conflict.

Separately, Amirabdollahian said on his X account on Thursday: “Time is fast running out for Tel Aviv’s crimes to continue.”

“The only benefit of Netanyahu was that he made the foundations of the fake Israeli regime more shaky and showed the criminal, violent, and aggressive face of the Zionist regime in the massacre of women and children in Gaza,” he added.

“Undoubtedly, the future belongs to Palestine,” Amirabdollahian wrote.

Regional tension and cross-border clashes have intensified since Hamas, the Iran-backed group that runs Gaza, attacked Israel on October 7, triggering Israel’s war on the enclave.

Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group, which is allied to Hamas, have swapped attacks. More than 60 Hezbollah fighters and 10 civilians have been killed, Lebanese security officials say. The violence has also killed at least seven Israeli soldiers and one civilian.

United States and coalition troops have been attacked at least 40 times in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed forces as tensions soar over Israel’s bombardment. Forty-five US troops have been injured.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement has also launched repeated missile and drone attacks on Israel since October 7, all of which were either shot down or fell short.

In a move viewed as a show of force to regional rivals, and especially Iran, the US announced last week that it has deployed a nuclear-capable submarine in the Middle East.