TEHRAN(National Times)- Iran said on Monday that a recent wave of Israeli strikes against the country was “fully coordinated” with the United States’ forces.
Tehran’s statement comes after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks for the first time since the shaky ceasefire in the Middle East war took effect on April 8, despite US President Donald Trump calling for restraint.
The flare-up, which also drew in other countries in the region, saw Israel striking Iran after the latter targeted it in vengeance for an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs. No casualties have been reported so far in either Israel or Iran.
“The direct responsibility of the United States for the actions of the Zionist regime is clear, and the consequences of escalating tensions will also fall on the United States,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told a new briefing, according to state news agency IRNA.
“No one believes that the Zionist regime would carry out any action without prior coordination and cooperation with the United States,” Baqaei said.
“It is perfectly natural that the diplomatic process initiated to put an end to this imposed war would be affected,” the official observed.
Nonetheless, Baqaei said that Pakistan’s mediation efforts to end the war with the US were continuing even after fighting resumed with Israel.
“Diplomatic consultations are naturally continuing in all circumstances,” the spokesman said.
Baqaei further stressed that it had “been frequently repeated by us together with the Pakistani mediator that Lebanon is part and parcel of the [ceasefire] agreement”, according to Al Jazeera.
“We cannot allow the Zionist entity or the United States to undermine this part of the part of the deal,” he was quoted as saying.
“These events [of the past day] will definitely intensify suspicions. We were already exchanging messages with the American side in an atmosphere of extreme suspicion,” the Iranian official noted.
“The US’s contradictions to date – whether intentional or unintentional – have caused enough chaos in the diplomatic process. The incidents that have occurred in the past 24 hours will only fuel this chaotic situation in the diplomatic process,” he added.
Baqaei also reiterated Tehran’s stance that the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog was disregarding the realities of the conflict and held biased views.
He contended that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi was “acting with deliberate bias against Iran and the Iranian nuclear issue”, according to Al Jazeera.
Tit-for-tat strikes after Iran’s warning
Earlier on Monday, an Israeli airstrike targeted a petrochemical firm in southwestern Iran, causing partial damage to the industrial complex, Iranian officials said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Tehran had retaliated against the attack by striking similar industrial targets in Israel’s Haifa.
Israel’s attacks had followed missile launches by Iran, whose military said it targeted Israel’s Ramat David Airbase with ballistic missiles in response to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and Beirut.
The statement warned that any further attacks would be met with “a broader and more severe” Iranian response.
Last night, the IRGC demanded that the Israeli army stop its attacks on Lebanon.
“We had previously warned that if the crimes in the Dahieh area of Beirut expand, we will attack targets in the occupied territories,” the IRGC’s top joint military command said.
On late Saturday night, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also shared an image on X depicting Iran and Lebanon’s national flags.
Earlier on Saturday, Israel launched strikes in the Beirut area for the first time since the US announced a truce plan for Lebanon last week.
The region has been on edge since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28, triggering Iranian retaliation on Israel and other regional countries hosting US military sites.
A temporary ceasefire was reached on April 8, but negotiations later stalled amid disputes over its implementation and subsequent regional developments.
