Washington - The White House announced on Thursday that President Joe Biden has conveyed an uncommon message to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In this message, President Biden cautioned Tehran against the targeting of U.S. personnel in the Middle East, following a series of attacks on American forces in the region.

White House spokesperson John Kirby, during a news briefing, confirmed the direct transmission of a message but chose not to provide further details. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The United States officials aim to prevent a broader conflict in the Middle East in the aftermath of the October 7th attack by the militant Hamas group on Israel, which tragically resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 people, with a majority being civilians.

The Pentagon has stated that approximately 900 more U.S. troops are en route to or have recently deployed in the region. Their mission is to enhance air defenses for the safeguarding of U.S. personnel, especially in response to a surge in attacks carried out by groups affiliated with Iran in the region. Furthermore, it was disclosed that U.S. troops faced at least 12 attacks in Iraq and four attacks in Syria in the past week.

President Biden stated to reporters that his message to the ayatollah was a clear warning. He emphasized that if actions against U.S. troops continued, the U.S. would respond, and the ayatollah should be prepared. Importantly, he clarified that this warning was unrelated to Israel.

Before John Kirby's statement, an aide to Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi challenged Biden's account in a social media post. The aide, Mohammad Jamshidi, asserted that the messages from the U.S. were not specifically addressed to the leader of the Islamic Revolution and were, in fact, more in the form of requests from the Iranian side. He suggested that if President Biden believed he had issued a warning to Iran, he should review the content of the messages with his team.

President Biden, on Wednesday, confirmed that he had conveyed a warning to the Iranian ayatollah. This warning emphasized that the United States would take action in response to continued targeting of U.S. forces. However, the specific method of communication for this message was not disclosed.

In a distinct development, Iran's state news agency, IRNA, quoted an undisclosed source who revealed that the United States had communicated messages to Iran and certain Iranian allies, including Lebanese Hezbollah. These messages conveyed the U.S.'s stance of not seeking to escalate the conflict and encouraged the exercise of restraint.

The source, whose identity remains undisclosed, expressed a viewpoint, stating that the United States faced a contradiction. On one hand, it was supplying military equipment to Israel, and on the other, it was attempting to influence the course of the conflict through political messages. The source pointed out the incongruity in the U.S. stance, as it claimed opposition to the expansion of the war. Additionally, the source highlighted that Iran's allies acted independently and were not subject to orders from Tehran.

Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, which rules Gaza, in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack in which the militant group also took about 200 people hostage. Israel has struck Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and is preparing a ground invasion. 

Palestinian authorities have reported a death toll exceeding 7,000, but President Biden has expressed doubts regarding these figures. Reuters, for its part, has been unable to confirm the accuracy of this death toll independently.

On Thursday, Iran's Foreign Minster Hossein Amirabdollahian said at the United Nations that if Israel's retaliation against Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip doesn't end, then the United States will "not be spared from this fire."

The Iranian government exerts influence by providing support and weaponry to various militant groups. These groups include Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen, and Shi'ite militias in Iraq.

In a recent known instance of U.S. retaliation, the U.S. military conducted multiple airstrikes in Syria on March 23. These strikes were aimed at Iran-aligned groups that the U.S. held responsible for a drone attack. This drone attack resulted in the death of an American contractor, injuries to another, and harm to five U.S. troops.