- Iran's foreign minister said on Monday that Israel could face "preemptive action" if it invades Gaza.
- He didn't specify what he meant, but said Israel's enemies are "capable of waging a long-term war."
Iran's government said on Monday that Israel can "expect a preemptive action" if Israel launches its anticipated invasion of Gaza.
"All options are open and we cannot be indifferent to the war crimes committed against the people of Gaza," Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on state TV, per a translation by Reuters.
"In the coming hours, we can expect a preemptive action by the resistance front," he added, per Reuters.
While Amirabdollahian did not specify what he meant by "preemptive action," he also said Israel's enemies are "capable of waging a long-term war," according to Reuters.
He made similar veiled threats while speaking to Al Jazeera on Sunday, hinting at "other fronts" being introduced to the Israel-Hamas war.
"If the measures aimed at immediately stopping the Israeli attacks that are killing children in the Gaza Strip end in a deadlock, it is highly probable that many other fronts will be opened," Amirabdollahian said, per the Doha-based outlet, which is owned by the state in Qatar. "This option is not ruled out and this is becoming increasingly more probable."
Amirabdollahian further warned of Hamas and its allies turning Gaza into "a graveyard of occupation soldiers."
His comments come as Israel is expected to invade the Gaza Strip to retrieve more than 100 hostages seized by Hamas militants on October 7.
The Israel Defense Forces mobilized some 300,000 reservists and has gathered tanks at the Gaza border, signaling a mass ground assault that foreign observers expect will result in devastating casualties among both Israelis and Palestinians.
Iran warned Israel through the United Nations on Saturday that it will intervene if the IDF continues to attack Gaza, Axios reported, citing two diplomatic sources who were not named.
It's not publicly known when the IDF plans to launch its offensive, but it told Palestinians in northern Gaza to evacuate on Thursday evening, giving them a 24-hour deadline that has been repeatedly extended.
The United Nations warned that it's "impossible" to expect the 1.1 million people who live in the crowded region to flee south in time.
Fears of regional escalation
Meanwhile, the US and its allies have repeatedly expressed concern that tensions and violence could escalate in the region. The Pentagon moved two aircraft carrier strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean last week in a bid to deter surrounding militaries — who have historically clashed with Israel — from joining the war.
Iran, which is openly hostile to Israel, is known to back Hamas and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group.
The US and Israel said they haven't found evidence of Iran being directly involved in Hamas' October 7 terrorist attacks, during which militants entered southern Israel and slaughtered civilians. Around 1,300 people were killed in the attacks, Israel estimated.
At the same time, The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran and Hezbollah had both assisted Hamas with plans and training for the surprise assault, citing sources within the attacking organizations.
Israel has responded to the attacks by raining air strikes on Gaza and enforcing a region-wide siege of the 140-square-mile region, where 2 million people live. At least 2,778 Palestinians have been killed, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Monday.
So many people are dying in Gaza that morgues have run out of space and are resorting to using ice cream trucks to store bodies, Reuters reported.