Iran has dismissed calls from the UK and other Western countries to refrain from retaliation against Israel following Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh’s murder in Tehran, the country’s capital.
The murder of Haniyeh has sparked a flurry of international diplomacy to de-escalate tensions.
The UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, had urged Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to “stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel” and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place in a rare telephone conversation.
This call was followed with a joint statement released by UK, US, France, Italy, and Germany, urging Iran to drop its threat of an attack on Israel.
The leaders, who spoke together by phone, also expressed their support for the “defence of Israel against Iranian aggression and against attacks by Iran-backed terrorist groups”.
However, Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian responded by saying retaliation is a “way to stop crime” and Iran’s “legal right”.
As tensions escalate, Israel has put its military on high alert, and the US has warned of potential attacks by Iran or its proxies as soon as this week.
The US has built up its military presence in the Middle East to help defend Israel. Meanwhile, the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon is threatening to retaliate over Israel’s killing of one of its top commanders in an air strike in Beirut.
