Iran warns it could launch ‘preemptive action’ against Israel in coming hours

He warned that Iran-backed groups in the region “will not allow the zionist regime [Israel] to do whatever it wants in Gaza”.

He said: “The resistance front is capable of waging a long-term war with the enemy [Israel]... in the coming hours, we can expect a preemptive action by the resistance front.”

When asked if Iran could “go to war” over the crisis, Amir-Abdollahian said: “Every possibility is conceivable.”

He added: “No party should be indifferent to the crimes being committed in Gaza.”

Amir-Abdollahian warned that Israel could attack Iran’s cities in the future should his country fail to defend Gaza now.

He continued: “If we do not defend Gaza today, tomorrow we will have to defend against (Israeli) bombs in our own cities.”

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Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has so far denied any involvement in Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October.

However, Khamenei hailed Israel's “irreparable” military and intelligence defeat.

Iran has long been a backer of the Palestinian cause, with Tehran providing moral and financial support to Hamas.

The latest warning comes after Iran condemned the US’s involvement in the Israel-Hamas war and claimed Washington “must be held accountable”.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said: “Iran considers that the United States is already militarily involved in the conflict between Israel and Palestinians.

“The crimes of the Zionist regime are carried out with the support of the United States and Washington must be held accountable.”

At time of writing, the US’s newest and largest aircraft carrier is currently placed in the Mediterranean, with a second vessel joining in the coming days.

US Secretary of State Antony Bliknen said on Sunday that the carriers are not a provocation but rather a deterrence.