Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, (r) listens to Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, April 18, 2019. (AP/Iranian Presidency Office)
US State Department Spokesman: ‘I can tell you that those reports are not true; they have not sent that message.’
By Vered Weiss
The US denied reports that Iran would cancel its plans to retaliate for the killing of two IRGC terrorist generals and five others if Israel would agree to a ceasefire.
Amid ongoing negotiations in Cairo over a pause in fighting and the release of Israeli hostages, an anonymous Iranian source told media outlet Jadeh Iran that Iran offered to retract its threats against Israel if it agreed to pull its troops entirely from Gaza.
The source allegedly added, “If America succeeds in containing the situation, it will be a great success for the Biden administration and we can build on that.”
However, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said about the report, “I can tell you that those reports are not true; they have not sent that message.”
However, Miller added, “But if Iran wants a ceasefire in Gaza, that ought to be something that they can accomplish because they have long supported Hamas, and they could press Hamas that they should accept the deal that is on the table that would achieve a ceasefire.”
Last Monday, an airstrike at the Iranian embassy in Damascus killed IRGC terror commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi along with his deputy and five others.
Although Israel has not taken direct responsibility for the incident, Iran has blamed Israel and has vowed a “harsh response” against Israel.
US and Israel intelligence report that Iran could target Israel directly with missiles or Kamikaze drones.
“None of the embassies of the (Israeli) regime are safe anymore,” Gen. Rahim Safavi, a military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim agency.
The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, vowed that Iran would “punish the Israeli regime” for last week’s airstrike, threatening a “harsh retaliatory attack,” Tasnim reported.
On Saturday, Iranian army Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri said that an attack against Israel “will be carried out at the right time.”
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