2024-04-17 07:07:48
A Turkish diplomatic source raised many questions by talking about messages that were exchanged between Washington and Tehran via Ankara before the “Iranian response” that targeted Israel with dozens of marches and missiles, last Saturday night, according to Reuters.
The Turkish source revealed that Iran “informed Turkey in advance” of its operation against Israel, and that the United States notified Iran, through Ankara, that it must be “within certain limits.”
According to observers, this statement makes the Iranian strike a “precisely controlled explosion inside the laboratory,” and that the results were “completely under control,” and all parties were prepared and in agreement about “the timing, size, and results” of the Iranian response.
“Military action under diplomatic management,” said one of the observers in Damascus to “Ain Libya,” adding that everyone was accepting of the idea that “Iran is obligated to respond” in front of its audience so that its political and military authority is not eroded in the face of repeated Israeli strikes without an explicit Iranian response.
The Turkish source made matters clearer when he said, “Iran informed the United States through Ankara that its attack is only a response to the embassy attack and its scope will not exceed that.”
According to the “Ain Libya” source, Washington did not need more than this Iranian reassurance to reach Israel, which was confused and fearful of the expansion of the war at a time when it was preparing to eliminate Hamas in Rafah, and therefore Israel was ready to receive a strike “precisely to the millimeter” that did not go beyond The context of the response as Tehran said.
US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, spoke to his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, days before the latest escalation, to clarify that escalation in the Middle East is not in anyone’s interest.
Commenting on this, the “Ain Libya” source said that Ankara conveyed the American point of view to Tehran and informed it that Washington “does not want escalation,” which is exactly what Tehran wanted to hear.
The “Ain Libya” source added that what confirms that matters were being managed in the corridors of politics with precision is the statement of Iran’s representative to the United Nations before the marches and missiles reached “Israel” that “the process is over,” putting the ball in Israel’s court by saying, “If Israel escalates, we will “We will respond more forcefully.”
Turkish, Jordanian and Iraqi officials told Reuters on Sunday that Iran had provided extensive notice days before the attack with drones and missiles on Israel, which made it possible to avoid large numbers of casualties and escalation, but an American official denied this.
This was confirmed by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Sunday, saying that Tehran had notified neighboring countries and the United States 72 hours before the strikes were carried out.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that it had addressed Washington and Tehran before the attack, and added that it had conveyed messages as part of its mediation role to ensure that the reactions were proportionate.
However, a senior official in the administration of US President Joe Biden denied Amir Abdollahian’s statement, and said that Washington had made contact with Iran through Swiss intermediaries, but had not received 72 hours notice.
“This is absolutely not true,” the official added. They did not provide any notification, they did not give any indication that… these would be the targets, so evacuate them.”
The American official said that Tehran did not send a message to the United States until after the attack had begun, and that it was intended to be “extremely destructive.” He speculated that Iran was saying that it had provided notification in order to cover up the embarrassment resulting from the failure of the attack.
He added, “We received a message from the Iranians at a time when the attack was still underway, through the Swiss.
However, Iraqi, Turkish and Jordanian officials said that Iran provided an early warning last week that it would carry out the attack, and the warning included providing some details.
Perhaps the results of the Iranian attack indicate the extent of coordination and management, as losses are almost non-existent, most of the marches and missiles were destroyed in the air over Damascus and Baghdad, and citizens heard the sounds of explosions in both countries.
Two Iraqi sources, including a government security advisor and a security official, said that Iran used diplomatic channels to inform Baghdad of the attack at least three days before it occurred.
The exact timing of the attack was not revealed at that stage, but Iraqi security and military authorities were informed hours before the attacks, allowing Baghdad to close its airspace and avoid fatal incidents.
“The government understood from Iranian officials frankly that the US military in Iraq also knew about the attack in advance,” the Iraqi security official said.
A senior Jordanian official said that Iran summoned Arab envoys in Tehran on Wednesday to inform them of its intention to carry out an attack, but did not specify the timing.
In response to a question about whether Iran had also provided details about the targets and the type of weapons it would use, the Jordanian source did not respond directly, but indicated that this was true.
An informed Iranian source said that Tehran informed the United States through diplomatic channels, including Qatar, Turkey, and Switzerland, of the day scheduled to carry out the attack, and confirmed that it would be carried out in a way that would avoid summoning a response.
The question is to what extent escalation can be avoided, and the US official said that Biden informed Israel that the United States will not join any Israeli retaliatory action.
Last updated: April 15, 2024 – 12:03
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2024-04-17 07:07:48