Iran: Regional resistance groups act independently, do not get orders from Tehran

“Iran is not involved in the resistance groups’ decisions about how to support the Palestinian people or defend themselves and the people of their countries in the face of any aggression and occupation,” Kanaani said in a statement on Monday.

He made the remarks after US President Joe Biden and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron claimed that “Iranian-backed groups” mainly based in Iraq were accountable for a drone attack on the border of Jordan and Syria on Sunday, which killed at least three American forces and wounded 34 others.

Kanaani cautioned that leveling baseless accusations against Iran is a projection and a conspiracy by those who see their interests in dragging the US feet in a new conflict in the region to cover up their own problems.

The spokesman further stated that since the beginning of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza in early October, Iran has repeatedly warned against the danger of the expansion of the scope of conflict in the region due to Israel’s continued attacks against the Palestinian people and the US’ full support for the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in the besieged strip and the occupied West Bank.

He emphasized that the US’s insistence and continuous violation of the national sovereignty of Iraq and Syria and bombing attacks against the groups and people of Iraq, Syria and Yemen have intensified the instability in the region.

The diplomat further stressed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security in the region.

Iran believes that war in Gaza is not a solution and putting an end to Israel’s attacks on Gaza and establishing an immediate ceasefire can prepare the ground for the restoration of peace to the region, Kanaani continued.

“Iran monitors the developments in the region with readiness and vigilance and the responsibility for the consequences of provocative accusations against Iran rests with the perpetrators of such baseless claims,” he added.

The attack marks the first time that US forces were killed since the start of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza on October 7.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of anti-terror fighters, claimed attacks on three bases, including one on the Jordan-Syria border.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on October 7, there have been around 160 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria. Most of those have been claimed by regional resistance forces.

Iran has frequently said resistance groups act on their own in response to Israeli crimes in Gaza.