Iran warns wider war if third parties join conflict with Israel
Here are the main points from Al Jazeera's interview with Esmaeil Baghaei, a senior Iranian official and government spokesman:
Any direct involvement by another country in the conflict between Iran and Israel would risk triggering a broader war, 'engulfing the region and beyond,' Baghaei warned.
He said Iran is currently limiting its military response to Israeli targets and trusts neighbouring states will not allow their territory to be used by the US for strikes against Iran.
When asked about the possibility of talks with Washington, he said, 'Diplomacy never ends,' but stressed that Iran no longer trusts the US.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
2 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Foreigners flee Iran to Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia
More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel began striking the country last week, government officials in Baku and Yerevan said on Tuesday. The Caucasus countries border Iran's northwest, with the closest crossing into Azerbaijan around 500 kilometres from Tehran by road. 'Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan,' a government source told reporters on Tuesday. The evacuees, who crossed the border via the Astara checkpoint on the Caspian Sea coast, are being transported to Baku airport and 'flown to their home countries on international flights,' the source said. Among those evacuated are citizens of post-Soviet countries Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, along with others from Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the United States, China and Vietnam. Later on Tuesday, Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada told reporters that Baku 'is reviewing requests from more than 1,200 foreign nationals from 51 countries seeking to leave Iran' via Azerbaijan. 'Border-crossing permits are being arranged,' he added. Azerbaijan shut its land borders in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and has kept them closed ever since. But the official said that 'in light of the evacuation need, Azerbaijan has temporarily opened its border for those leaving Iran.' India also evacuated 110 of its citizens from Iran through Armenia, Ani Badalyan, Yerevan's foreign ministry spokeswoman, told journalists. Meanwhile, Iran's ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, said 'many Iranian citizens who had previously been in Turkey and Russia have returned to Iran via Armenia.' 'Efforts are ongoing to facilitate the return of Iranian citizens amid flight cancellations,' Sobhani said in comments translated into Armenian at a news conference in Yerevan. Poland's foreign ministry said it would evacuate part of its embassy staff in Tehran via Baku. 'We have decided to evacuate or support the departure of staff who do not need to remain in the country, so-called non-essential personnel,' Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys told reporters. Agence France-Presse
Al Etihad
2 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Iran launches hypersonic missiles at Israel in new attack
18 June 2025 22:44 TEHRAN (AFP) Iran launched hypersonic missiles in a new wave of attacks against Israel on Wednesday, Iran's State TV reported, as fighting between the two foes raged for the sixth day. The Fattah hypersonic missiles "have successfully penetrated the Israeli regime's defences," the State TV reported.
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Majority of Iranian Americans oppose US strikes on Iran, poll finds
A majority of Iranian Americans oppose military intervention in Iran and support a nuclear deal with Tehran, a new poll has found. The survey, released on Tuesday, found that a plurality of Iranian Americans strongly opposed strikes on Iran, more than the number who supported them to any degree, and that Iranian Americans favoured negotiations over sanctions or military action as a means of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The poll, conducted between 10 May and 2 June 2025, prior to Israel's strikes, was organised by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), an advocacy group that describes itself as 'advancing the priorities of the Iranian-American community'. Israel began pummelling Iran with unprovoked air strikes on 13 June, bombing oil facilities, nuclear sites, and civilian neighbourhoods, saying the strikes were a necessary pre-emptive measure to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran responded to Israel's attack, which has already killed hundreds of Iranians, with missile barrages of its own. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The spectre of US involvement looms over the conflict, a question amplified by US President Donald Trump's belligerent social media posts threatening military action. Opposition to military action According to the results of the survey, 53 percent of Iranian Americans either strongly oppose or somewhat oppose military action, compared to 36 percent who either somewhat or strongly support military action. Ryan Costello, policy director at NIAC, told Middle East Eye it was likely that opposition to military action would have increased following Israel's attacks on 13 June. 'Since it was conducted, Iranian Americans have had cause for their opinion to potentially shift pretty dramatically - and we'd expect it to typically be in an anti-war direction,' Costello said. 'Israel's bombing campaigns have been indiscriminate with a high civilian toll, foremost in Gaza, but also in Lebanon and now Iran. Apartment buildings have been levelled, car bombs set off, and even state TV was targeted,' Costello added. Israeli strikes have killed at least 585 people, according to Human Rights Activists, a US-based human rights watchdog. Iranian media reported that 60 of these people were killed in a single Israeli air strike on an apartment building in Tehran. NIAC's poll found that many Iranian Americans support a nuclear deal with Iran, with 62 percent of respondents supporting a deal and 24 percent opposing one. Meanwhile, Trump has said his patience for a deal is wearing thin, saying he is 'not too much in the mood to negotiate". On social media and TV, he has repeatedly demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender". NIAC's poll found that 49 percent of Iranian Americans believe negotiations would be the most successful way to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. According to the survey, which was released earlier than anticipated by NIAC, 22 percent believe that military action would be the most effective method, while eight percent believe sanctions would be the most effective method. Around eight percent said that the US should not try to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. 'There has been a concerted effort that we have seen in recent years to attack pro-diplomacy voices, including NIAC, and to portray the Iranian-American community as pro-war and against peaceful solutions. As the poll finds, this is not the case, and it is inaccurate to portray it as such,' Costello said. Regime change Among the voices clamouring for regime change is Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed last shah of Iran. Pahlavi, who has previously alluded to receiving US government funding, has appeared on TV networks urging Iranians to rise against the government in Tehran. Yet according to Costello, Iranian Americans are 'horrified, and the vast majority of voices we've seen both inside and outside Iran are condemning the war and hoping it doesn't get worse'. A YouGov survey conducted earlier this week found that American adults were largely opposed to American involvement in the conflict. The report, conducted shortly after Israel began striking Iran, found that 60 percent of American adults oppose US involvement and only 16 percent support it. Among Democrats, 15 percent support involvement and 65 percent oppose it. Even a majority of Republicans, 53 percent, oppose involvement, with only 23 percent supporting it, according to the poll. Among independents, only 11 percent support involvement while 61 percent oppose it.
