Iran warns US will 'not be spared' if Israel's war on Gaza continues

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has warned that if Israel's bombardment of Gaza doesn't end then the United States will "not be spared from this fire."

"I say frankly to the American statesmen, who are now managing the genocide in Palestine, that we do not welcome (an)expansion of the war in the region," he told a United Nations meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the Middle East on Thursday.

"But if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire," he told a meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the Middle East.

Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, which governs Gaza, in retaliation for an October 7 attack that killed 1,400 people and saw hundreds taken hostage.

Israel has struck Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and is preparing a ground invasion. Palestinian authorities say more than 7,000 have been killed.

Hamas has told Iran that it was ready to release civilian hostages, adding that the world should push for the release of 6,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, Amirabdollahian said.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready to play its part in this very important humanitarian endeavour, along with Qatar and Türkiye. Naturally, the release of the 6,000 Palestinian prisoners is another necessity and responsibility of the global community," he said.

Iran, Hamas delegation in Moscow

Also on Thursday, a delegation from Hamas visited Moscow for talks on the release of foreign hostages including Russian citizens that the group is currently holding in Gaza, Russian news agencies reported, citing the foreign ministry.

Senior Hamas member Abu Marzouk was among those attending the talks, TASS reported.

"Contacts were held with him in continuation of the Russian line on the immediate release of foreign hostages in the Gaza Strip. Issues related to ensuring the evacuation of Russian and other foreign citizens from the territory of the Palestinian enclave were also discussed," TASS said.

Russia has ties to all key players in the Middle East, including Israel, Iran, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

Like Iran, Moscow has repeatedly blamed the current crisis on the failure of US diplomacy. Russia has also called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the resumption of talks aimed at finding a peace settlement.

Hamas released its own statement in which it praised the efforts of Russia's President Vladimir Putin and foreign ministry to end what it called "the crimes of Israel that are supported by the West", according to Russia's RIA news agency.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a weekly briefing that Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baghiri Kani was also currently visiting Moscow.

Zakharova gave no further details. Baghiri Kani is Iran's chief nuclear negotiator.