Iran rejects Western calls to stand down Israel threat

TEHRAN: Iran on Tuesday rejected Western calls to stand down its threat to retaliate against Israel for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran late last month.

“The declaration by France, Germany and Britain, which raised no objection to the international crimes of the Zionist regime, brazenly asks Iran to take no deterrent action against a regime which has violated its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement.

“Such a request lacks political logic, flies in the face of the principles and rules of international law and constitutes public and practical support” for Israel.

Iran and its allies have blamed Israel for the killing of Haniyeh as he visited Tehran on July 31 for the swearing-in of President Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel has not commented.

Western diplomats have scrambled to avert a major conflagration in the Middle East, where tensions were already high due to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

In a statement on Monday, the United States and European allies called on Iran to “stand down”.

“We called on Iran 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,” said the joint statement issued by Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.