Iran to Respond Harshly if Israel Retaliates for Missile Attack

Tehran, MINA – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that Iran wants peace but will respond harshly if Israel retaliates for a missile attack by Tehran.

“If Israel strikes back, our response will be even harsher,” Pezeshkian said at a news conference in Doha, as reported by Anadolu Agency.

“We are absolutely against bloodshed. We have always said: we want peace, we want calm. We do not want blood to be spilled in any country. But Israel is pushing us to this,” He added.

Pezeshkian highlighted Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, saying it forced Iran to respond.

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“No country or party can accept this. No region can thrive or prosper under the shadow of war,” he said. “I appeal to the West: Please pull Israel back, you placed Israel at the heart of this region. You also share responsibility in the bloodshed.”

Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, with Tel Aviv estimating 180 rockets.

The attack caused casualties, property damage and led to the closure of Israel’s airspace, with millions of Israelis rushing to shelters.

Iran claimed the strikes were in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Haniyeh and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, as well as Tel Aviv’s massacres in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

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Israel has launched massive airstrikes since September 23 against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon that have killed more than 1,000 victims and injured over 2,950, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The Lebanese resistance group and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,700 victims, most of them women and children.​​​​​​​ (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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