Iran "not directing, ordering" regional resistance groups against U.S.: spokesman

TEHRAN, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday reiterated that the resistance groups in the region "are not directed by Iran and do not take orders from Iran."

He made the remarks at a weekly press conference in the Iranian capital Tehran while commenting on the military operations by the regional resistance groups against the U.S. bases in Iraq.

"The resistance groups in the region are the representatives of their own peoples, governments and countries," Kanaani said. "Unlike the U.S. government that bosses its allies around, Iran does not have forces under its command or proxy troops in the region to give them orders."

Kanaani said operations by the resistance groups were part of the reactions in the region to the Israeli "crimes" against Gaza with the U.S. government's support.

"The United States and Israel should understand that the reactions (against them) by the resistance groups and different nations will stop once they cease the killing of people immediately, lift completely the siege of Gaza, allow the entry of emergency humanitarian aid into the coastal enclave and stop their forced displacement of the Gazans," he said.

Over the past days, the U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq were targeted by multiple attacks, and Washington believes "pro-Iran fighters" were to blame.

Israel has been carrying out attacks on Gaza over the past weeks to retaliate against the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7. The conflict has so far led to the deaths of over 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza, while on the Israeli side, about 1,200 people have lost their lives, the majority of whom were killed in the Hamas attacks.