‘Attack against Israel was necessary’
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said military action became necessary after a lack of action by UNSC
Tehran, Iran - Iran’s attack on Israel was ‘necessary and appropriate’ and was aimed at military targets, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
In a news conference in the capital Tehran, ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the military action became necessary after a lack of action by the UN Security Council and also due to ‘irresponsible behaviour’ shown by the US, Britain and France.
On April 1, an attack on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, which Iran blamed on Israel, resulted in the killing of seven Iranian military officials, including a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for Syria and Lebanon.
After the attack, top Iranian political and military leadership vowed ‘definitive revenge’.
Late on Saturday, IRGC launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel in an operation, dubbed True Promise, that lasted several hours, inflaming the already tense regional situation.
Iranian officials, including President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein AmirAbdollahian, defended the military action, the first direct attack on Israel, as a ‘legitimate
defence’.
Kanaani, addressing the weekly presser in Tehran on Monday, echoed them, saying the attack targeting military sites in Israel was ‘in line with Iran’s inherent right to self-defence’ and ‘within the framework of legitimate defence
under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter’.
He said the attack was in response to Israel’s ‘repeated aggression’, including the attack on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, adding that the Iranian military acted ‘professionally and responsibly’.
Repeating what Iran’s foreign minister said on Sunday, Kanaani said Tehran had given ‘necessary warnings before the military action in a diplomatic way’.
Amir-abdollahian on Sunday said Iran had ‘communicated to our neighbours and allies that our reaction would unequivocally manifest as a legitimate defence’, adding that the objective was ‘legitimate defence’ and revolved around ‘punishing the aggressive regime of Israel’.
Kanaani, reiterating the same, said Iran has ‘issued warnings’ against the potential utilisation of airspace and territory of regional countries by the US in support of Israel.
Amid speculation that Israel might respond to Iran’s strikes, there are reports that US officials have urged Tel Aviv not to go ahead with any further military action.
Israel to build ‘global alliance’
Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz said on Sunday that Israel would build an international alliance and make Iran pay the price at the right time and in the right manner for its attack on the country.
His remarks were made in a recorded video broadcast on his Facebook account amid escalating calls within the Israeli government to take immediate action against Iran.
“Iran launched an attack on Israel yesterday (Saturday), but it encountered the strength of the Israeli defence system,” said Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White party.
He considered Iran a ‘global problem and a regional challenge’. Gantz added that Iran ‘also poses a threat to Israel’.
Confrontation between Israel and Iran is ‘not over yet, and the strategic alliance and regional cooperation system that we have built and endured its crucial test must be strengthened now specifically’, he said.
“In the face of the Iranian threat, we will build a regional alliance, and we will make Iran pay the price in the manner and at the appropriate time for us,” he added.
Gantz did not provide details on how this alliance will be built and the parties that will form it.
He said that ‘until today, we must remember that we have not yet completed our missions, including the return of the hostages (in Gaza) and removing the threat from the residents of the north (on the borders with Lebanon) and the south (on the borders with Gaza). We will continue the military campaign with determination and responsibility’.
Kanaanisaid the attack was in response to Israel’s ‘repeated aggression’, including the attack on Iranian Consulate in Damascus