Reuters :
Iran said on Sunday that it has “no red lines” in defending itself, as the Middle East anxiously braced for Israel’s response to missile attacks from its arch-foe two weeks ago.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi’s comments appeared intended to dispel suggestions that Iran would absorb an Israeli strike without a further response, as Tehran did earlier this year when Israel last struck Iran after a volley of Iranian missiles.
“While we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say it clearly that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests,” Araqchi said in a post on X.
Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Oct. 1 amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. Many were intercepted in flight but some penetrated missile defences, although the only fatality was a Palestinian killed by debris that fell on the West Bank.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said Israel will hit Iran in a way that will be “lethal, precise and surprising”.
The Middle East remains on high alert for further escalation in a year of war as Israel battles Iran-backed groups Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
U.S. officials believe Israel has narrowed down targets in its potential retaliation for the Iranian missile barrage, and would aim to hit military and energy infrastructure, NBC reported on Saturday. It said there was no indication Israel would target nuclear facilities or carry out assassinations in Iran.
The NBC report cited unidentified U.S. officials and added that Israel had not made final decisions about how and when to act. It also cited U.S. and Israeli officials as saying a response could come during the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday. The holiday ended on Saturday evening without an Israeli strike.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations on Sunday to evacuate troops in its UNIFIL peacekeeping force from combat areas in Lebanon.
Netanyahu said the military had asked the U.N. to evacuate the soldiers repeatedly, adding that their presence in the area made them hostages of Hezbollah.
A series of strikes have hit peacekeeping positions and personnel in recent days, most of them blamed by UNIFIL on Israeli forces, drawing condemnation from the United Nations and several foreign nations. A total of five peacekeepers have been wounded.
Hezbollah denies Israel’s accusation that it treats the peacekeepers as hostages and says Israel wants them to leave so they cannot serve as a check on the Israeli cross-border campaign.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a call with Israeli Defence Minister Gallant on Saturday, expressed “deep concern” about reports that Israeli forces had fired on peacekeeper positions and urged Israel to ensure safety for them and the Lebanese military, the Pentagon said. The Lebanese military is not party to Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah.
