BAGHDAD (AFP/Reuters) – Iran's top diplomat said Sunday there would be "no red lines" in defending the country's people and interests, but efforts would continue to "contain an all-out war in our region".
Israel has vowed a response to Iran's October 1 missile attack which Tehran said was in retaliation for the killing of militant leaders in the region and a general in its Revolutionary Guards.
"While we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say it clearly that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X.
He arrived in Baghdad on Sunday for talks with Iraqi officials in Iran's latest high-level diplomatic efforts ahead of Israel's anticipated attack.
At a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Araghchi said Iran was "fully prepared for a war situation ... but we do not want war, we want peace."
He said Iran would continue consultations "to prevent the escalation of tension in the region and to work for peace and ceasefire" in Gaza and Lebanon.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Baghdad was against a regional war spreading to Iran.
"The continuation of the war and its expansion towards the Islamic Republic of Iran and (Israel's) exploitation of Iraqi airspace as a corridor is completely unacceptable and rejected," Hussein said.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has vowed that his country's response will be "deadly, precise, and surprising".
After Baghdad, Araghchi will head to Oman, the Iranian ISNA news agency reported.
On Thursday in Qatar Araghchi met Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani for talks on the wars in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Doha has been mediating talks aimed at a Gaza ceasefire and has also called for a truce in Lebanon.
A day earlier, Araghchi met Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
Tehran had said the talks were aimed at providing "better conditions" for Palestinians and Lebanese under Israeli attacks.
US to send anti-missile system and troops to Israel, Pentagon says
The United States said it will send US troops to Israel along with an advanced US anti-missile system, in a highly unusual deployment meant to bolster the country's air defenses following missile attacks by Iran.
US President Joe Biden said the move was meant "to defend Israel," which is weighing an expected retaliation against Iran after Tehran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel on Oct 1.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched, in this undated handout photo. US Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency
The United States has been privately urging Israel to calibrate its response to avoid triggering a broader war in the Middle East, officials say, with Biden publicly voicing his opposition to an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites and his concerns about a strike on Iran's energy infrastructure.
Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder described the deployment as part of "the broader adjustments the US military has made in recent months" to support Israel and defend US personnel from attacks by Iran and Iranian-backed groups.
But a US military deployment to Israel is rare outside of drills, given Israel's own military capabilities. US troops in recent months have aided Israel's defense from warships and fighter jets in the Middle East when it came under Iranian attack.
But they were based outside of Israel.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, is a critical part of the US military's layered air defense systems and adds to Israel's already formidable anti-missile defenses.
A THAAD battery usually requires about 100 troops to operate. It counts six truck mounted launchers, with eight interceptors on each launcher, and a powerful radar.
Iran's Foreign Minister Araqchi warned that the United States was putting the lives of its troops "at risk by deploying them to operate US missile systems in Israel."
"While we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say it clearly that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests," Araqchi posted on X.
Still, experts say Iran has sought to avoid a direct war with the United States, making deployment of US forces to Israel another factor in its calculus going forward.
Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel in April. Then on Oct. 1, Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel amid another escalation in fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Many were intercepted in flight but some penetrated missile defenses.
US officials did not say how quickly the system would be deployed to Israel.
The Pentagon said a THAAD was deployed to southern Israel for drills in 2019, the last and only time it was known to be there.
Lockheed Martin, the biggest US arms maker, builds and integrates the THAAD system, which is designed to shoot down short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Raytheon, under RTX, builds its advanced radar.