Paris Warns Tehran: End Destabilizing Activities in the Middle East

The French Foreign Minister stated that during a phone call with her Iranian counterpart, she emphasized that the risk of a regional war in the Middle East has never been greater, and Tehran and its proxy groups must cease their destabilizing activities. Catherine Colonna wrote on social media platform X after her conversation on Saturday with Hossein Amir-Abdollahian: "The Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxy groups must immediately stop their destabilizing actions, as no one will benefit from escalating tensions." According to Iranian media, Amir-Abdollahian considered the only way to stop the conflicts as addressing the "root causes" and stated: "Ending the war in Gaza and facilitating humanitarian aid to the people in this region will be an effective step in ending violence in the region." Ilan Berman, a vice president at the American Foreign Policy Council, warned on Wednesday in an interview with Voice of America about the "heating up" of the proxy war between Iran and Israel in coordination with Hezbollah and Hamas. Abram Paley, the Deputy Special Envoy for Iran at the United States, stated in an exclusive interview with Voice of America on January 4 that the Biden administration's focus in 2024 will be on countering the wide range of destabilizing behaviors of the Islamic Republic around the world. Senior officials of the Islamic Republic expressed joy and happiness following Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, but later repeatedly denied any connection to this attack and other attacks by extremist groups in the region. In the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed. Israel, the United States, the European Union, and several countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. French Foreign Minister: Gaza is Palestinian territory, and its future does not depend on Israel. Josep Borrell entered Beirut to discuss border tensions between Israel and Lebanon. Exclusive; Abram Paley: The focus of the Biden administration in 2024 is to counter the wide range of destabilizing behaviors of the Islamic Republic around the world. U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria have been targeted by drone attacks. CENTCOM: An Iranian-made cruise missile was discovered in Iraq. Dialogue between U.S. and French foreign ministers; Blinken called for an immediate end to "illegal" Houthi attacks. Britain's warning about continued attacks in the Red Sea: "International action" is forthcoming.