A top Iranian leader said that if Israel ends its war in Gaza, it would cease other crises in the Middle East.
Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” is its network of autonomous militant groups in various countries within the Middle East. The nation separately has launched a series of attacks against Israeli or American interests or forces in the region due to Israel’s war in Gaza.
“An end to the genocide in Gaza will lead to an end of military actions and crises in the region,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday. “The security of the Red Sea is tied to the developments in Gaza, and everyone will suffer if Israel’s crimes in Gaza do not stop. … All the fronts will remain active.”
Iran’s allies in the region include Hamas, the Gaza-based terrorist group that ignited the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel; Hezbollah, a Lebanese-based terrorist organization that is more closely aligned with Tehran than Hamas; militias in Iraq and Syria; and the Yemen-based Houthis.
Israeli and Hezbollah forces have engaged in limited combat, though concerns remain about the possibility of an all-out war opening up between the two. Amir-Abdollahian said on Wednesday that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah told him that their attacks would stop if Israel ended its operations in Gaza.
The Iraqi and Syrian militias that Iran supports have carried out more than 130 rocket and missile attacks against U.S. forces in those countries since mid-October 2023.
The Houthis have carried out roughly 30 attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea since the war began. Their attacks have forced global shipping companies to consider, and some have already chosen to, reroute their vessels to avoid the region, instead opting for a longer route around the southern tip of South Africa.
U.S. forces have carried out three sets of airstrikes against the Houthis since late last week, the first time they have attacked the Houthis’ capabilities. The Biden administration announced Wednesday its intent to designate the Houthis as a “specially-designated global terrorist,” but not a foreign terrorist organization.
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“These attacks are clear examples of terrorism and a violation of international law and a major threat to lives, global commerce, and they jeopardize the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” a senior U.S. official told reporters.
Hizam al-Assad, a member of the Houthi political bureau, said the attacks will continue, despite the terrorist designation, “as long as the American Zionist aggression and siege on our people in Gaza continues.”
