Iran does not seek to increase Middle East tensions, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani, adding that its response to the killing of the Hamas chief in Tehran would be “definite and calculated”.
Iran blames Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 31, which Araqchi was quoted by Iran’s state media as saying was “an unforgivable violation of Iran’s security and sovereignty”.
Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for Haniyeh’s death in the Iranian capital. But the Jewish state has a history of covert assassinations and other operations inside Iran, mostly targeting scientists working on the nuclear programme.
“Iran does not seek to increase tensions. However it is not afraid of it,” Araqchi told his Italian counterpart on the phone, according to a statement about the phone call published
on Monday by Iran’s foreign ministry.
Araqchi said that Iran’s response would be “definite, calculated and accurate”, according to the statement.
Earlier Maj. Gen. Salami, chief of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, had warned that “You will hear good news about revenge,” apparently alluding to Tehran’s vow to payback Israel for Haniyeh’s killing.
There after Hezbollah in Lebanon launched a massive barrage of rockets against Israel on Sunday. The group claimed to have fired 320 rockets targeting a string of Israeli military positions.
The Hezbollah statement said “The number of Katyusha rockets launched until is now is more than 320 … towards enemy positions. Later it said the targets covered 11 Israeli bases and barracks, claiming that “The first phase has ended in total success. The target was Israeli barracks and positions to facilitate the passage of attack drones towards targets deep inside Israel.”
The same day, the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched a drone strike on the Israeli port of Haifa.
Israel remains on heightened alert after the Hezbollah rocket barrage. While its statement raised the possibility of more such attacks, media reports suggested no indication of any further strikes.
With Reuters inputs
