Iranian Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri declared on Monday that Hamas "Palestinian fighters" were ready for a potential Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
The fighters are in constant readiness to retaliate to the Zionist ground offensive, he added, according to AFP.
"The Palestinian resistance has built over 400 kilometers of tunnels in Gaza," he revealed, saying they are used to transport motorcycles and sometimes cars.
He reiterated Iran's suggestion of holding a Palestinian referendum so that they can determine their fate. "This is the only just proposal in the world (...) and there can be no other solution," he added.
"Everyone will recognize the results of the vote," he went on to say.
Meanwhile, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday the US should refrain from blaming Tehran for Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
"Stop it," Nasser Kanani said, when asked by a journalist about statements by US officials, including President Joe Biden, accusing Iran in relation to developments in Gaza.
Moreover, he said attacks on US forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the region were a result of "wrong American policies" including support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
US forces have come under repeated attack in Iraq and Syria since Hamas gunmen poured across the Gaza border on October 7, killing 1,400 people and seizing 239 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
Israel has in response unleashed a withering bombing campaign against the Gaza Strip that the Hamas-controlled health ministry said on Monday has killed 8,306 people.
"The attack on American bases in the region, especially in Iraq, is the result of wrong American policies in the region, which we hope it will correct," said Kanani.
He said the attacks were carried out by groups against "the US presence in the region and seriously opposed to American support for the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel)".
"You reap what you sow," he said, urging the United States to "stop" backing Israel.
The White House has accused Tehran of "actively facilitating" attacks on US forces in the Middle East.
On Thursday, the US military said it had struck two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups.
President Ebrahim Raisi has said Iran sees it as "its duty to support the resistance groups" but insisted that they "are independent in their opinion, decision and action".
The United States has around 2,500 troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria as part of efforts to prevent a resurgence of the ISIS extremist group.
