After Reports of Israeli Action … Iran Warns Against Crossing “Red Lines” in the Gulf



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Iran warned today, Monday, against the crossing of “red lines” related to its security in the Gulf, following press reports about movements of Israeli submarines into the region. And he stressed that he would defend himself against any “adventure” that the Donald Trump administration might adopt in its final days.

And the U.S. Navy announced last week that a nuclear submarine had sailed in the Strait of Hormuz, in a move seen as a show of force as the first anniversary of the assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani by a U.S. attack on Iraq.

Shortly after, foreign press reports in the Israeli media reported that an Israeli submarine had crossed the Suez Canal, also on its way to the Gulf.

“Everyone knows what the Gulf means for Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said at a press conference on Monday in response to a question about these reports.

“Everyone knows the policies of the Islamic Republic in Iran in the field of national security and defense, and they know well how high the risk will be if they want to cross the red lines of Iran,” he added.

Israel has neither officially confirmed nor denied reports that its submarine has moved.

Soleimani’s memory

Iran had previously accused Israel of being behind several operations against it, the most recent of which was the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in late November near Tehran.

Iran is preparing this week to commemorate Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force in the Revolutionary Guard, who was killed in a US airstrike near the Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020.

The upcoming anniversary date coincided with Washington’s accusation that Tehran was behind a missile attack on its embassy in Iraq, which Iran denied, reiterating its refusal to target diplomatic missions.

Khatib Zadeh said: “We have sent messages to the US government and our friends in the region through various channels, lest the current US regime rush into a new adventure in the region in its final days in the White House,” Khatib Zadeh did not specify those channels.

“We are not looking for tension, we have not looked for it, and we will not look for it, especially in the region. But we have no doubt of defending our country,” he added, expressing his hope that “rational people in Washington will be able to control the tensions. “.

The broken relations between Tehran and Washington for almost 4 decades witnessed growing tension during the Trump era, who adopted a policy of “maximum pressure” against Tehran, and in 2018 unilaterally withdrew from the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program and returned to impose tough economic sanctions on Tehran.

Since the summer of 2019, the two countries have faced the prospect of engaging in a direct confrontation, especially after Soleimani’s assassination in a US air strike near the Baghdad airport.



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