Israel to receive ‘harsher' response if takes any other actions against Iran, warns FM

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vows that Iran will deal the Israeli regime with a “harsher response” if it takes any further aggressive measures against the Islamic Republic.

The top diplomat made the remarks on Friday, addressing reporters in the Lebanese capital Beirut, to which he has travelled to hold bilateral meetings with senior Lebanese officials.

“We do not intend to continue [our] attacks,” he said, adding, "If Israel takes any further action against Iran, our response will be harsher, and we will definitely retaliate." 

He highlighted that Iran’s retaliation against such violation would be “proportionate and completely calculated.”

The remarks came after the Islamic Republic launched hundreds of missiles towards the Zionist entity’s military, and espionage and intelligence bases all over the occupied Palestinian territories as part of Operation True Promise II on Tuesday in response to the regime’s deadly aggression against the country and other regional nations.

The aggression has seen the regime waging a genocidal war against the Gaza Strip, escalating its deadly attacks on Lebanon, and violating regional countries’ sovereignty to carry out targeted assassination operations against senior regional officials.

The atrocities have claimed tens of thousands of lives, including those of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Araghchi described the Iranian operation as an instance of legitimate self-defense that took place within the framework of the United Nations Charter.

“We were not the ones, who initiated the attack,” he said, noting that Iran’s operation served as a response to the regime’s acts of aggression against the Islamic Republic’s territory and interests.

The official noted that while the Israeli regime is in the habit of striking civilian targets, the Islamic Republic has only struck military and security centers.

Araghchi, meanwhile, noted his underway trip to Lebanon had so far featured “very good negotiations and consultations” with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. The talks concerned Lebanon’s developments, including the issue of a potential ceasefire that could end the regime’s aggression against the country, he added.

The Islamic Republic is contacting other countries too concerning the issue of the ceasefire, whose terms have to be in line with the Lebanese people’s rights and meet with the Lebanese resistance’s approval, he asserted.

Such a ceasefire also has to be concomitant with the regime’s ceasing its aggression against Gaza, the official stated.

Araghchi said his presence in Beirut at a time, when the regime was taking the city under constant aggression, indicated Iran’s “continued strong and steadfast” support for the Lebanese nation and resistance.

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi makes unannounced visit to Beirut

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has made an unannounced visit to the Lebanese capital Beirut.

The Islamic Republic would sustain the support in future too, he said, adding, “We are certain that the Zionist regime’s atrocities will end up in defeat like before, and that the Lebanese people will achieve victory [in the face of the regime].”

Upon arriving in the Lebanese capital, Araghchi likewise insisted in a post on X, former Twitter, that his trip, during which he was being accompanied by Iranian lawmakers and members of the country’s Red Crescent Society, was aimed at “making clear that Iran will ALWAYS stand with people of Lebanon.”

He also invited other regional governments to similarly “display steadfastness in their support for Lebanon, especially amid onslaught by Israeli regime.”

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