BackBack Iran warns US to step aside as it prepares to hit Israel after Syria attack

Iran warns US to stay out of conflict with Israel after suspected consulate attack in Syria. Concerns grow in the Biden administration over potential attacks in Israel or against military targets.

Referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, wrote on X, "warned the US not to get dragged into Netanyahu’s trap".

The US is on high alert and is preparing for a “significant" response from Iran against Israeli or American targets in the region.

Earlier this week, an Israeli airstrike hit the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing at least seven Iranians, including two generals.

While Israel has repeatedly targeted Iran-linked assets in Syria over the past few months, this was the first time an attack struck an Iranian diplomatic building.

Israel has been on alert since then, canceling home leave for combat troops, calling up reserves, and bolstering air defenses. Its military scrambled navigational signals over Tel Aviv on Thursday to disrupt GPS-navigated drones or missiles that might be fired at the country.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Friday said a response from Iran is undoubtedly coming. But, he said, his group won’t “interfere in such decisions."

“And after that, how Israel will behave, the region would enter in a new phase," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

Nasrallah, who lives in hiding, highlighted the coordinated work of Iran’s so-called resistance groups in the region.

Hezbollah, the Middle East’s most powerful militia, said the group hasn’t used “its primary arsenal" in the daily skirmishes with Israel along the southern border of Lebanon since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.

Hezbollah is “completely prepared and ready" for any war with Israel, Nasrallah said.

(With Bloomberg inputs)

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away