“Iran has the legal right to punish [Israel]”Tehran said, noting that it acts in accordance with the UN Charter and international law and takes serious measures to protect its national security.”
Iran said Monday it has the “legal right” to punish Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which it blames on Tel Aviv, arguing that the Islamic Republic is not responsible for the escalation in the region.
“We consider our right to defend our national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity to be indisputable,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani at a weekly press conference.
Iran, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah have blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s killing in the Iranian capital. last Wednesday, but Tel Aviv has not yet publicly confirmed its alleged involvement in the death of the political leader.
Hamas and Israel have been engaged in a war in the Gaza Strip since October last year.
The death came just hours after an attack claimed by Israel killed the military chief of the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, near Beirut.
“Iran has the legal right to punish [Israel]. Iran acts within the framework of the UN Charter and international law and takes serious measures to protect its national security with the aim of punishing the aggressor, creating deterrence and defending its security,” Kanaani added.
Concerns about a possible military escalation in the Middle East are growing after Iran and its allies intensified threats against Israel in recent days, which the Iranian regime says is “the source of the escalation” in the Middle East.
“If the governments of the region and the international community had fulfilled their legal duty by putting pressure on the Zionist regime, we would probably not have seen such a high level of disorder and an escalation of the risk of conflict in the region,” the statement added.
“Terror is the essence of the Zionist regime [Israel] and the survival of this regime depends on the continuation of state-sponsored and organized terrorism,” said Kanaani, for whom experience has shown that Israel “is not only a threat to Palestine, but also to Palestine.” a real danger to the stability and security of all Palestinians“.
The Israeli government says the country is at a “very high level” of preparedness for any scenario, “both defensive and offensive,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel’s main ally, The United States announced an increase in its military presence in the Middle East. namely to “strengthen support for the defense of Israel.”
Iran had already launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israeli territory in mid-April, in retaliation for the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, on April 1, which killed seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, including two generals.
The Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel are sworn enemies and are competing for regional hegemony, waging an undeclared war marked by cyberattacks, assassinations and acts of sabotage for decades.
Source: Observadora
