Iranian officials have rejected attempts from three European countries at mediation amid rising tensions in the Middle East as Iran insisted on its right to launch a retaliatory strike on Israel.
“These calls are politically one-sided and illogical, as they encourage a regime (Israel) to commit even more crimes in the region,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in Tehran.
Iran does not need advice or permission from abroad to defend its security and territorial integrity, Kanaani said in a statement.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer have called on Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to prevent a further military escalation in the Middle East.
Pezeshkian reportedly told the trio that Israel was to blame for the recent crisis and needed to be punished.
A report by Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, said Pezeshkian told Starmer in a phone conversation on Monday that a punitive response to an aggressor was “a right of nations and a solution for stopping crimes and aggression”.
In order to seriously prevent an escalation, he argued, European countries should condemn the Israeli government and stop ignoring what he called war crimes.
The Middle East has been hovering on the brink of a regional conflagration since the targeted killing of two leading Israeli opponents — Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and — two weeks ago.
In response, Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia announced they would launch massive retaliatory strikes against Israel.
The Israeli armed forces have been on high alert for days.
Only a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip stemming from hoped-for talks this week would hold Iran back from direct retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Haniyeh on its soil, three senior Iranian officials told the Reuters news agency.
Iran has vowed a severe response to Haniyeh’s killing, which took place as he visited Tehran late last month and which Iran blamed on Israel.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
The US Navy has deployed warships and a submarine to the Middle East to bolster Israeli defences.
One of the sources, a senior Iranian security official, said Iran, along with allies such as Hezbollah, would launch a direct attack if the Gaza talks fail or it perceives Israel is dragging out negotiations.
With AP and Reuters