Israel-Hamas War: US Warned Iran in Back-Channel Talks

Iranwire – Washington says it has held back-channel talks with Tehran in recent days to warn the Islamic Republic against escalating the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

While the United States has not had formal diplomatic relations with Tehran since 1980, US national-security adviser Jake Sullivan told US broadcaster CBS News on October 15 that the White House has “means of communicating privately” with the Islamic Republic.

“And we have availed ourselves of those means over the past few days to make clear privately that which we have said publicly,” he added.

At least 1,300 Israelis have been killed in the Hamas surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, while dozens of soldiers and civilians are being held in Gaza as hostages. More than 1,300 Palestinians have also been killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza, which is controlled by the Palestinian armed group.

Sullivan said there was a risk that Lebanon’s militant group Hezbollah or the Islamic Republic of Iran could get directly involved in the conflict as Israel prepares for a possible ground assault.

“There is a risk of an escalation of this conflict, the opening of a second front in the north, and of course of Iran’s involvement — that is a risk. And that’s a risk that we have been mindful of since the start,” Sullivan said.

The US administration has ordered a second aircraft-carrier strike group to the region “to send a very clear message of deterrence to any state or any actor that would seek to exploit this situation,” and will push Congress this week to pass an emergency spending bill that includes billions of dollars in military aid for Israel, he also said.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that the Islamic Republic “cannot remain a spectator” in Israel’s war against Hamas.

“If stopping the aggression against Gaza does not succeed, the expansion of the war fronts is not excluded and its possibility increases every hour,” he told Al Jazeera, according to NBC. “The continued aggression and the absence of a political solution add fuel to the fire and things may get out of control.”

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke directly with his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, on October 15 to warn Tehran from “extension of the conflict, especially to Lebanon.”

“Given its relations with Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran has a responsibility in this respect. Iran must do everything possible to avoid a regional flare-up,” Macron’s office said in a statement.