Iran aims to contain fallout in Israel response, won’t be hasty: sources
- Iran’s leadership has threatened revenge for April 1 strike on embassy building in Syria
- Iranian foreign minister has delivered message to Washington via Omani intermediary
Iran has signalled to Washington that it will respond to Israel’s attack on its Syrian embassy in a way that aims to avoid major escalation and it will not act hastily, as Tehran presses demands including a Gaza truce, Iranian sources said.
Iran’s message to Washington was conveyed by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian during a visit on Sunday to the Gulf Arab state of Oman, which has often acted as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, the sources said.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment on any messages from Iran but said the United States has communicated to Iran that it was not involved in the strike on the embassy.
Iran’s foreign ministry was not immediately available to comment. The Omani government did not immediately respond to emailed questions for comment, sent during the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday.
A source familiar with US intelligence was not aware of the message conveyed via Oman but said Iran has “been very clear” that its response to the attack on its Damascus embassy compound would be “controlled” and “non-escalatory” and planned “to use regional proxies to launch a number of attacks on Israel”.