CNN’s Amanpour says Iran doesn’t want to ‘escalate’ conflict with Israel as Iranian rockets hit country

Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor, insisted Tuesday that Iran does not want conflict to escalate between it and Israel or the United States.

Amanpour made the statement during media coverage of Iran’s launch of missile strikes on Israel in retaliation for the country’s airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon last week.

“No one, no one – neither the Lebanese nor the Iranians, wants the situation to get even worse. Iran does not want an Israeli or American war against it,” CNN anchor Amanpour said Tuesday morning, Dana Bash, suggesting the current rocket barrage was calculated. to provoke a minimal response from Israeli forces.

Netanyahu calls Middle East conflicts ‘a blessing or a curse’, warns of Israel’s ‘long arm’

During a recent CNN segment, correspondent Christiane Amanpour insisted that Iran does not want the conflict with Israel to escalate. (PBS/Screenshot)

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the barrage of hundreds of missiles was in retaliation for the killing of terrorist group leader Nasrallah in Beirut last week and the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.

The military group warned in a statement carried by Iranian state media that if Israel responded to the missile barrage, “it would face overwhelming attacks.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed to strike back in retaliation for Nasrallah’s death, declaring: “The blood of the martyr will not go unavenged.”

During his appearance on CNN, Amanpour reported that Iranian leaders had tried to exercise restraint in order to avoid a wider war.

“It is extremely important to be absolutely precise about what is happening. So far, there is no evidence that anything has landed, that it has been intercepted, according to our correspondents on the ground. And Also, the United States and Israel said they estimated the targets would be three Israeli air bases and an intelligence base,” she began.

“That’s very important to keep in mind,” Amanpour said.

ISRAEL TARGETS HEZBOLLAH LEADER NASRALLAH IN STRIKE AGAINST BEIRUT SIEGE

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets, seen from Ashkelon, Israel, October 1, 2024. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed Tuesday that Israeli forces had carried out “a number of interceptions,” and noted that they “were not aware of the casualties.” He nevertheless revealed that there were “some impacts in the center and in certain areas of the south of the country”.

Regarding Iran and Lebanon’s views on this conflict, Amanpour continued: “The Iranian foreign minister told me in New York, during the United Nations, that they are demonstrating – and again times before Friday’s assassination – that they were showing restraint and that Hezbollah was showing restraint. also, and that he wanted to, you know, defuse all of this. »

The correspondent noted that before Nasrallah’s death, both countries felt “trapped and were trying to resist being trapped in this war.”

“This is when the assassination of their client, Hassan Nasrallah, occurs,” she said, adding: “Hezbollah is supposed to be Iran’s frontline troops. This response from Iran is therefore more likely because he feels that he was left with no choice.”

Despite Amanpour’s assertion that Iran and Lebanon do not want things to escalate, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan called the attack “a significant escalation by the Iran, a significant event” during a briefing at the White House.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP