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Iran Softens its Tone and Retreats from Escalation.. Calling to Avoid All-Out War
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Successive statements by Iranian officials indicate Tehran's efforts to balance maintaining its prestige while avoiding involvement in a broad regional conflict
Tehran softened its escalatory rhetoric towards Israel today, Thursday, amid international fears of a regional war outbreak following the Iranian missile attack early this month.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi revealed in an interview with a Russian website that his country's response to any potential Israeli attack "will be proportionate and calculated," backing down from his previous statements in which he threatened to target specific locations inside Israel.
Araghchi sent an implicit message of de-escalation to the United States, stating that "America would be dragged into any comprehensive war and we don't want that," in a clear indication of Tehran's desire to avoid escalation.
This position contradicts previous statements by Iranian officials who pledged a stronger response than the previous attack if Israel carried out any aggression, despite their repeated assurances that they don't wish to expand the confrontation.
Iran's moderate stance coincided with leaks from an Israeli security source to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority about Tel Aviv's imminent launch of a "very large" attack on Iran.
American efforts to contain the situation were manifested in Washington's urging Israel to limit its potential attacks to military bases, avoiding Iranian oil and nuclear facilities, in an attempt to prevent a wider war in the region.
Tehran targeted three Israeli air bases with more than 180 missiles on October 1st, accusing Tel Aviv of involvement in the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July, as well as the assassination of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard leader who was accompanying Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburb on September 27th.
Levant-Agencies
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