Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warned on Friday that the country will respond at an immediate and “maximum level” if Israel acts against its interests.
“If Israel wants to do another adventurism and acts against the interests of Iran, our next response will be immediate and will be at the maximum level, and will cause them to regret it,” Amirabdollahian said in an interview with NBC News.
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He added that Iran was not planning to respond unless Israel launches a significant attack. “As long as there is no new adventurism by Israel against our interests, then we are not going to have any new reactions,” Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying.
Amirabdollahian refused to acknowledge that Israel was behind the recent attack on his country, and also “mocked” Israeli weapons as ‘toys that our children play with’. He said, “They were more like toys that our children play with – not drones.”
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The Iranian foreign minister’s comments came after reports of an Israeli strike on Iran surfaced early Friday.
Iran-Israel attacks
The latest round of violence between Israel and Iran began on April 1, when Israel allegedly bombed an Iranian consular building in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Two generals and five officers in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in the attack.
Iran attacked Israel in retaliation on April 13, reportedly launching a drone and missile attacks on the nation. “Iran launched drone strikes at Israel directly from its territory,” the Israel army claimed.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guardshad also confirmed on April 14 that a drone and missile attack was underway against Israel in retaliation for a deadly April 1 drone strike on its Damascus consulate. Amirabdollahian told NBC news that the attack was intended to be “a warning.”
Later on Friday, April 19, Iran’s state media reported explosions in Isfahan city, as US media quoted officials as saying that Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes. Amirabdollahian was referring to this attack in his interview with the NBC news.
Initial reports on Friday had cited “informed sources” as denying that Iran had been attacked from abroad, news agency AFP reported. However, US media quoted officials as saying that the country received advance notice of Israel’s reported strike on Iran but did not endorse the operation or play any part in its execution.
Meanwhile, Israel military said it doesn’t “have comment at this time” after reports of blasts in Iran.
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Published: 20 Apr 2024, 07:14 AM IST
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