Iranian FM Warns Expansion of Gaza War “Inevitable”

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has warned that the scale of civilian suffering in Gaza will inevitably lead to an expansion of the war between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

"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," Amir-Abdollahian said late on November 9, according to Iranian state media.

The reports said the minister made the comments during a telephone conversation with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Amir-Abdollahian’s remarks could ramp up concerns over whether the recent deployment of US naval forces to the Eastern Mediterranean will be able to keep the conflict in Gaza from further destabilizing the Middle East.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq have been threatening a regional conflict since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The war was sparked by the Tehran-backed group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel which killed some 1,400 people and saw 240 others taken hostage in Gaza.

Israel launched an operation from the air and the sea, and on the ground in an attempt to eliminate Hamas from the Gaza Strip. The operation has killed thousands of people in the coastal territory, while hospitals struggle to cope with the influx of wounded people, as medical supplies, clean water and fuel to power generators have been running out.

Meanwhile, thousands of rockets have been fired at Israel since October 7. Most have been fired from Gaza, but the Iran-backed Hezbollah has been conducting and overseeing daily assaults on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.

Israel says a drone believed to have been launched from southern Syria on November 9 hit a school in the Israeli city of Eilat. In response, the Israeli military carried out airstrikes inside Syria.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have also attempted to strike Israel with missiles and drones, although all of them were either intercepted or missed their targets. 

US officials say American troops have been attacked at least 40 times in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed forces since the start of the war. In retaliation, the US Air Force has carried out airstrikes on sites used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups.