Iran not to retreat from its right to respond to Israel

FM

TEHRAN, (MNA) – Tehran would not retreat from its legitimate right to respond to the Israeli assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the Iranian foreign minister says.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the remarks in a phone conversation with his British counterpart David Lammy on Friday.

Lammy offered congratulations to Araghchi on his appointment as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and considered the beginning of the 14th government as a new opportunity to increase diplomatic consultations between the two countries.

Referring to the developments in Gaza, Lammy called for Iran's role in reducing tensions in the region.

Araghchi, for his part, said that the Islamic Republic does not want to expand the war and increase tension in the region, but it will not retreat from its absolute right to respond to the criminal and terrorist act of the Zionist regime in Tehran.

The two sides also discussed a range of issues of mutual interest, including talks related to the lifting of sanctions, and emphasized their desire to continue the negotiations.

Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were martyred after their residence was targeted in Tehran on July 31, according to a statement released by the IRGC.

Issuing a statement, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh was "designed and implemented by the Zionist regime and supported by the criminal government of America."

Reacting to the Israeli act of terror, high-ranking Iranian officials vowed to give a proper response to the Zionist regime, with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei saying, that by assassinating Ismail Haniyeh, the Israeli regime has prepared the ground for harsh punishment for itself.

Earlier in August, the political adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani took to X social media platform, formerly Twitter, to write that preparations have been made to severely punish a regime that only understands the language of force.

The sole goal of the Israeli regime in killing the worshipers of the Al-Tabin school in Gaza and assassinating the martyr Ismail Haniyeh in Iran is to seek war and make the ceasefire negotiations fail, Shamkhani wrote.

Preparations for severe punishment of the Israeli regime have been made following the legal, diplomatic, and media processes, he added.