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Iran is warning Arab nations not to assist Israel’s retaliatory attack
Iran has been urging Arab nations not to allow Israel to use their airspace as part of any retaliatory strike, two Gulf diplomats have told NBC News.
The diplomats asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Iran says countries that help Israel in such a way during any response to Tehran’s ballistic missile barrage could potentially become part of a war, one senior diplomat said.
Iran’s president and its foreign minister have been meeting with Gulf countries including Qatar and Saudi Arabia this week. Other Arab nations such as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates host U.S. bases and oil instillations vital to the world economy. The sentiment expressed by Iran is raising fears in the region that these could potentially become targets.
“The Gulf Cooperation Council is not interested in being caught in a cross fire,” one diplomat told NBC News. “Our focus has been on de-escalation.”
A second diplomat told NBC News that it appeared unlikely that any Arab nation would agree to allow their airspace to be used by the Israelis for a strike on Iran.
Iran’s message to Arab nations through diplomatic backchannels was first reported by Reuters.
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Early photos reveal scene of an Israeli strike on Beirut
People gather at the site of an Israeli air strike in the Basta neighborhood of Beirut this morning, where residential buildings lay in ruins as excavators worked to remove rubble.
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Israel accused of targeting U.N. peacekeepers as strikes on Gaza and Beirut intensify
The United Nations has accused Israel of attacking its peacekeeping force on the Lebanese border. The accusation came as Israeli airstrikes killed dozens of people in Gaza’s Deir Al-Balah and Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.
The post Beirut reels from deadly Israeli strike; Iran warns Arab states not to help Israel attack appeared first on NBC News.
