Iran‘s reaction to the looming threat of American retaliation against what the Biden administration calls Iranian proxy groups has been a consistent denial of any responsibility for the attacks on American forces — and a warning that any strike on Iranian territory or personnel would escalate tension in the tumultuous region, not make U.S. forces safer.

Iranian officials insist the country does not have proxies, and that the loosely affiliated collection of armed groups it supports across the Mideast, which it calls the „axis of resistance,“ act independently.