Iran’s threat to US: Israel steps back, says ‘has nothing to do with what Trump did’

As tensions continue to soar between Iran and the United States (US) over the past week, and both Tehran and Washington issuing threats against each other, Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel should not be dragged into the conflict.

According to Anadolu Agency, Netanyahu, while chairing a security cabinet meeting Monday, said the killing of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was carried out by the US, stressing his country was “not involved”.

Soleimani, commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Forces, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, vice president of the Hashd al-Shaabi group, were assassinated in a US drone strike on Friday outside Baghdad International Airport.

With the dramatic escalation making headlines and Iran issuing threats of severe consequence, Netanyahu has urged his ministers to reiterate Israel’s support for America’s right to defend itself when speaking to the media.

During the meeting, top Israeli intelligence officials reassured the ministers that the likelihood of a retaliatory attack by Iran against Israel was low, since “Israel stayed at a distance from the incident”, according to Channel 13.

Soleimani’s slaying marked a new high in tensions between the US and Iran, which have often been at a fever pitch since President Donald Trump chose in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran.

Iran has now promised to avenge Soleimani’s killing and announced that it would stop complying with the 2015 nuclear deal. Trump has since threatened to target cultural sites in Iran.