Iran warns US over Israeli strike

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that it will view the US as complicit if Israel follows through on its threat to carry out a major strike on the Islamic Republic.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden was asked by journalists if he had a “good understanding” of what Washington’s closest Middle East ally might do in retaliation to the Iranian missile barrage on October 1, and whether Israel “will actually respond to Iran.” Biden replied by saying “Yes and yes,” but declined to provide further details.

Araghchi took to X on Saturday to stress that “anybody with knowledge or understanding of ‘how and when Israel was going to attack Iran,’ and/or providing the means and backing for such folly, should logically be held accountable for any possible causality.”

The foreign minister did not mention Washington directly in his message, but his post included a link to an article by Reuters, on Biden confirming that he is aware of Israeli plans to target Iran.

CNN reported on Saturday, citing three informed sources, that the US has launched an investigation after highly classified intelligence reports on Israel’s preparations for possible strikes on Iran were leaked online.

Two documents were posted on Telegram on Friday. One of them, apparently prepared by the Pentagon’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, said the Israeli military “continued key munitions preparations and covert UAV activity on October 16, almost certainly for a strike on Iran.”

The second file contained a detailed account of a “large-force employment exercise” conducted by the Israeli Air Force on October 15 and 16.

On October 1 Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, calling it a response to the killings of the Hamas and Hezbollah leaders and an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general last month.

Since then, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has threatened to deliver a “deadly, pinpoint accurate, and surprising” retaliation, while some Israeli officials have called for strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, including nuclear facilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday that the country would make the “final decisions” regarding a retaliation “based on our national interest.”