Iranian FM talks with European counterparts on missile attack on Israel

TEHRAN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) — Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi has exchanged views on the country’s missile attack against Israel with his British, French and Dutch counterparts.
Araghchi also discussed the tensions in Gaza and Lebanon in separate phone calls with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stephane Sejourne, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp as well as his counterparts from other countries, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
In the talks, Araghchi pointed to Iran’s months-long self-restraint following Israel’s assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July, as well as the continuation of Israel’s warmongering in Gaza and expansion of the conflict to Lebanon, “which have so far killed more than 42,000 innocent Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.”
He added that by carrying out the military operation against Israel, Iran solely used its legitimate right to self-defense based on Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and only targeted Israel’s military and security bases.
Araghchi stressed that the operation had concluded, but if Israel “seeks to take any retaliatory action, our response would be more severe,” adding that Iran was not after tension or war, although it was not afraid of war.
He called on all countries to make efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and prevent Israel’s attacks and further escalation of tension in the region, especially in Lebanon and Gaza.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said in statements on Tuesday that it had launched dozens of ballistic missiles on strategic centers in Israel in retaliation for Israel’s assassinations of Haniyeh, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and senior IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan, as well as its intensification of “malicious acts” with the U.S. support in its offensives against Lebanese and Palestinian peoples. ■