Iran accuses US of fueling war escalation and warns allies, as embassies tell Americans to leave

Escalating rhetoric

Iran's military directly accused the United States of driving the regional war toward a wider conflict on Saturday. General Ali Abdollahi, chief of the armed forces, said in a statement carried by state television that Washington was moving rapidly toward an escalation of tensions. He issued an explicit threat to countries aligned with the US.

The United States is rapidly moving toward an escalation of tensions in the regional war.

Any country that stands as a defensive shield for criminal and aggressive America will be doomed to the flames of war.

The warning came as Donald Trump said the US and Israel were holding back an attack on Iran for now, at the request of Tehran and other countries. American media had reported that Washington was considering new bombings, and Trump had recently threatened to strike Iran "very hard." No exchange of strikes was reported overnight Friday to Saturday.

Americans urged to leave

US embassies in several Middle Eastern countries called on American citizens to consider leaving the region or to be ready to depart if the security situation worsens. The warnings cited a risk of further escalation and potential disruptions to air traffic. The diplomatic alerts underscored the breadth of concern across multiple capitals, though no specific countries were named in the advisories.

Violence on the ground

Despite a weekend announcement of an agreement that would see Hamas disarm and Israeli forces withdraw from Palestinian territory, Israeli airstrikes continued overnight. Palestinian civil defence officials said at least eight people were killed in strikes that hit residential buildings in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. The attacks followed the diplomatic breakthrough, raising questions about the durability of the truce framework.

In southern Lebanon, Israel's military said it had identified and killed several Hezbollah fighters during the night. One Israeli soldier was wounded in close combat, according to military authorities. The exchange marked another flashpoint along Israel's northern border, where tensions with the Iran-backed group have simmered throughout the broader regional conflict.

A sequence of warnings and strikes

The day's events unfolded rapidly. Iran's accusation and threat to US allies set the tone early Saturday, followed by the American embassy alerts and Trump's disclosure that an attack on Iran was being withheld. By nightfall, the focus shifted to kinetic action: the Gaza death toll rose and Hezbollah operatives were targeted in Lebanon.

The convergence of diplomatic threats, public warnings, and ongoing military operations left the region on edge, with no immediate sign of de-escalation.