The United States has asked China and other countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, to urge Tehran not to launch a retaliatory strike against Israel for its airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his counterparts, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, this week amid growing concern in Washington about an imminent attack by Iran.
“We have also engaged with European allies and partners in recent days and urged them too to send a clear message to Iran: that escalation is not in Iran’s interests, it is not in the region’s interests and it does not it’s in the world’s best interest,” State Department spokesman Matt Miller said.
Other Western and Arab governments have also tried to persuade Iran to show restraint, as they are increasingly concerned that Tehran is preparing to respond directly against Israel, rather than through regional proxies, to avenge the assassination of several Iranian generals.
Washington has informed allies that Iranian retaliation may be imminent, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
A second diplomat familiar with the warning added that the United States believes a direct attack by Iran on Israel is possible, an action that would significantly exacerbate six months of hostility in the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel will retaliate against any attack on its interests, saying its forces are “prepared” for any external threat to the Jewish state. “Whoever harms us, we will harm him,” he said.
The Biden administration has repeatedly asked China in recent months to use its influence with Tehran, including to rein in Iran-backed Houthi militias that have attacked shipping in the Red Sea. But U.S. officials have said privately that they have seen no evidence that China did anything to apply pressure.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock telephoned her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian on Thursday to discuss the rapidly worsening security situation.
“No one can have any interest in a regional escalation,” the German ministry said. “All actors in the region are called upon to act responsibly and show restraint.”
British Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said he had made it clear to Amirabdollahian that “Iran must not drag the Middle East into a wider conflict.”
“I am deeply concerned about the risk that any miscalculations could lead to further violence,” Cameron wrote on X.
Amirabdollahian held telephone conversations with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar on Wednesday evening, with the Iranian Foreign Ministry saying that the consequences of the Israeli attack on the Damascus consulate were among the discussion points. He also spoke to his Turkish counterpart on Thursday.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that last week’s attack, which killed several of the country’s top commanders, amounted to an attack on Iranian territory and that Israel must be “punished.”
Amirabdollahian echoed the same message to his German counterpart, underlining Iran’s right to “legitimate defense” against an “aggressor” who has violated international law, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
The ministry said Amirabdollahian told Cameron that Iran never facilitated the escalation, but that Israel’s targeting of the Damascus consulate and the “silence” of the US and UK was what which encouraged Netanyahu’s “warmongering” behavior and inflamed regional tensions.
The consulate attack, which killed one of Iran’s most senior Revolutionary Guards figures in Lebanon and Syria, represented a significant escalation of hostilities that have engulfed the Middle East since the war between Hamas and Israel erupted in October.
Khamenei’s language, particularly in likening the attack to a violation of Iran’s sovereignty, has raised concerns that any retaliation will potentially be directed against Israel, rather than channeled through Iran’s representatives in the region.
Responding to Khamenei’s statement, US President Joe Biden underlined his “armored” support for Israel, explicitly stating that the United States will do “everything possible” to protect its ally’s security.
“Our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” he said after a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. “I repeat: battleship.”
A senior US official said Iran delivered a message to Washington after the attack on Damascus. In response, Washington warned Tehran “not to use the attack as a pretext to further escalate escalation in the region or attack US facilities or personnel.”
Over the past six months, Israel has engaged in a cross-border firefight with Iranian-backed militant groups in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, while Yemeni militants have launched attacks on Red Sea vessels.
Israeli forces killed three sons and three grandchildren of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in an airstrike in Gaza on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a Lebanese man accused by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control of funneling Iranian money to Hamas was found dead in a town near Beirut.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack on the Damascus consulate, which was widely seen as the biggest blow to Iran’s military since the U.S. assassination of top military leader Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
However, Iran, Syria and Hezbollah – the Tehran-backed militia that dominates southern Lebanon – have all blamed Israel, and Iranian officials have repeatedly said there will be a response.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA wrote on Wednesday that “the time is ripe to punish Israel.” He said the final decision had been made on how to respond to Israel, adding that a failure to respond would undermine Iran’s “deterrence”.
Even the Tasnim news agency, close to the Revolutionary Guards, wrote that Iran’s “punishment” towards Israel is inevitable and will be “heavy”.
But he said how and when Iran would act was confidential and that reports suggesting Tehran would respond in the coming days or was planning a missile and drone attack were just speculation.
Israeli analysts said an Iranian attack could range from an attack via one of Iran’s proxies, such as Hezbollah, to a direct attack on Israel by Iran itself, which could risk an escalation of the regional conflict.
Last week an Iranian official said Israeli embassies were “no longer secure”, sparking speculation they could be a potential target.
Additional reporting by Sam Jones in Berlin