CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour has sparked outrage as she insisted that Iran does not want conflict at the exact moment the nation was raining missiles on Israel.
The British-Iranian journalist claimed live on air that the Islamic Republic does not want its conflict with Israel to ‘escalate,’ and suggested the Jewish state is to blame for Tuesday’s attack.
‘Nobody, nobody, not the Lebanese nor the Iranians want this to escalate even further. Iran does not want an Israeli or a U.S. war against it. It is unlikely to be able to resist that, it does not want it,’ Amanpour told Dana Bash.
‘The Iranian foreign minister told me in New York during the United Nations that they were showing restraint and that Hezbollah was showing restraint as well, and that it wanted, you know, to de-escalate all of this… That was the word also from the podium at the United Nations by the Iranian president.’
Just minutes before Amanpour’s statements, her colleague Jim Sciutto was forced to abandon his position on a roof in Tel Aviv as the missiles got closer.
Amanpour went on to say Iran ‘felt it had no choice’ but to strike Israel after the Jewish state conducted assassinations of Hezbollah members in Lebanon.
‘Now, Hezbollah is not there, you know, Iran is not there to protect Hezbollah. It’s the opposite,’ she said.
‘Hezbollah is meant to be the frontline troops of Iran. So this response from Iran is more likely because it feels it has been left no choice.’
Social media users quickly took to X to slam Amanpour for her comments given the timing.
Commentary magazine editor John Podhoretz shared several posts about Amanpour’s analysis.
‘Iran doesn’t want more escalation, says Christiane Amanpour as hundreds of ballistic missiles rain down on Israel because she’s either insane or evil,’ he wrote.
‘Christiane Amanpour on CNN right now talking about how Hezbollah wanted a ceasefire and mean Israel wouldn’t allow it. Her role as a propagandist for evil is now escalating.
Podhoretz added: ‘My recommendation to CNN is to get Christiane Amanpour off the air before she starts singing the Iranian National Anthem.
‘Amanpour now directly blaming Israel for the strike because of Netanyahu speech to the Iranian people. Because, you know, Israel launched missiles at Iran.’
Amanpour had previously said that ‘So far, there is no evidence that anything has landed, that it is being intercepted according to our correspondents on the ground.’
She also suggested Iran’s attack was not meant to kill civilians, citing reports that the US and Israel had ‘assessed that the targets would be three Israeli air bases, and an intelligence base.’
Iran launched dozens of missiles into Israel on Tuesday, sharply escalating a conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militias Hezbollah and Hamas that began nearly a year ago and threatening to push the Middle East closer toward a regionwide war.
The orange glow of missiles streaked across Israel’s night sky as air raid sirens sounded across the country and millions of residents scrambled into bomb shelters. The attack raised the strong likelihood of an Israeli reprisal.
Before Iran’s attack, Israel had landed a series of devastating blows in recent weeks against Hezbollah’s leadership in Lebanon. It then ratcheted up the pressure on the militant group — which has been firing rockets into Israel since the war in Gaza began — by launching what it said is a limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon.
Israel has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until it is safe for citizens displaced from homes near the Lebanon border to return. Hezbollah has vowed to keep firing rockets into Israel until there is a cease-fire in Gaza.