Iran not after escalation but reserves right to ‘legitimate defense’: FM
Iran is not seeking “escalation” but has the right to “legitimate defense,” said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is on a two-day official visit to Pakistan, vowing to respond to last month’s Israeli strikes on its military sites.
“Unlike Israel, the Islamic Republic of Iran doesn’t seek escalation, however, we reserve our inherent right to legitimate defense,” Araghchi added during a news conference alongside his Pakistani counterpart on Tuesday.
“We will certainly respond to the Israeli aggression in a proper time and in a proper manner,” and “in a very measured and well-calculated manner,” the top Iranian diplomat underlined.
Israel carried out the October 26 strikes which it claimed targeted Iran’s defense capabilities and missile production, but Tehran said it caused some limited damage in some areas.
The Israeli aggression claimed the lives of four servicemen of Iran’s Armed Forces and one civilian.
Israel’s attack was in retaliation for an October 1 Iranian missile barrage, itself retaliation for the assassination of the leaders of the resistance movements and an Iranian commander.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also joined his Iranian counterpart to condemn Israel’s “unrestrained military aggression” in the region and called the strikes on Tehran a “grave violation.”
“Its genocidal actions against civilians and its illegal measures in occupied territories are in violation of international law,” Dar said.
Pakistan has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel primarily due to the South Asian nation’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Meanwhile, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) strongly condemned Israel’s recent act of aggression against Iran that killed five people as a serious violation of the Islamic Republic’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In a statement released on Monday, the 121-member bloc of countries denounced the Israeli regime’s terrorist attack and expressed deep solidarity with the Iranian people and government, while condoling with the bereaved families of the victims of the attack.
By waging the attack against Iran, Israel violated the fundamental principles of the international law, the United Nations Charter, especially Article 2 (4), which explicitly prohibits the use of force against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any country, it added.
NAM further held Israel accountable for the consequences of its deadly aggression.
On the Palestine issue, Araghchi said, “Muslim countries are working hard to deal with this crisis and stop the crimes of the Zionist regime.”
He asserted that, “At the upcoming meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, we will try to find a solution in order to end the Israeli crimes and reduce the suffering of the people of Gaza and Lebanon, especially as the winter approaches, which will increase the hardship and suffering of the displaced people and refugees in Gaza and Lebanon.”
“The government and people of Pakistan have also strongly supported the people of Gaza and Palestine over the past year. Unfortunately, the international community has failed to stop the Israeli genocide against the people of Gaza and its acts of aggression, which endanger both regional and global security and stability,” Iran’s top diplomat stressed.
Since October 2023, Israeli regime has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and over 3,000 people in Lebanon.