Iran’s leadership has said it is weighing a response to this weekend’s Israeli airstrikes, as the country called on the UN security council to meet on Monday.
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said Tehran was not looking for a war but would respond “appropriately” to Israel’s strikes.
“We do not seek war but we will defend the rights of our nation and country,” Pezeshkian told a cabinet meeting on Sunday. He added: “We will give an appropriate response to the aggression of the Zionist regime.”
It is not clear whether Pezeshkian was indicating that Iran would contemplate a direct military response, could step up efforts to arm regional proxies including Hezbollah, or would consider other diplomatic protests in response to Saturday’s airstrikes.
His remarks came amid a debate in Iran on whether the Israeli attack, more limited than some had predicted, warrants a military response and if the country will be seen as weak if it does nothing.
The US has said it is concerned that the cycle of tit-for-tat strikes between the Middle East’s largest military powers could lead to a full-scale regional war.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Sunday in his first response to the attack that the “evil committed by the Zionist regime two nights ago should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated”.
Khamenei said Iran’s power should be demonstrated to Israel, adding: “It is up to the authorities to determine how to convey the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli regime and to take actions that serve the interests of this nation and country.”
His remarks suggest there is no immediate military response planned, as Iran weighs its options.
Shortly after the attack, Tehran played it down, saying it had caused limited damage, and Joe Biden called for a halt to escalation.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, condemned the attacks, which Israel launched in retaliation for a barrage of ballistic missiles fired by Iran this month, and called for the UN security council to convene on Monday.
“The Israeli regime’s actions constitute a grave threat to international peace and security and further destabilise an already fragile region,” Araqchi said in a letter to the 15-member council on Saturday.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, in alignment with the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and under international law, reserves its inherent right to legal and legitimate response to these criminal attacks at the appropriate time,” he wrote.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a speech on Sunday: “The air force attacked throughout Iran. We hit hard Iran’s defence capabilities and its ability to produce missiles that are aimed at us. The attack in Iran was precise and powerful, and it achieved all its objectives.”
According to anonymous officials quoted in the New York Times, Israel’s attack destroyed air defence systems set up to protect several critical oil and petrochemical refineries and a large gasfield. According to the report, the air defences attacked included those around the Bandar Imam Khomeini petrochemical complex and the neighbouring port of Bandar Imam Khomeini.
Earlier, Pezeshkian had limited his remarks to mourning the loss of four Iranian soldiers killed in the Israeli attack. In a statement, he added: “Enemies of Iran should know these brave people are standing fearlessly in defence of their land and will respond to any stupidity with tact and intelligence.”
Javad Zarif, a former foreign minister and current strategic adviser to the government, also made no direct threat of retaliation, saying instead in a lengthy statement: “The west should move away from its outdated and dangerous paradigm. It must condemn Israel’s recent acts of aggression and join Iran in efforts to end the apartheid, genocide and violence in Palestine and Gaza, and in Lebanon. Recognising Iran’s confident resolve for peace is essential; this unique opportunity should not be missed.”
Iran’s mission to the UN in New York, often used as a means of communicating media messages to the west, accused the US of being complicit in the attack since Israeli warplanes attacked Iran from Iraqi airspace. “Iraqi airspace is under the occupation, command and control of the US military. Conclusion: the US complicity in this crime is certain,” it said.
The mission has written to the UN security council to accuse Israel of a breach of Iranian sovereignty.
Araghchi said: “It seems that the truth has been completely proven that without America, Israel does not necessarily have any power in the region, not only in the operation it has done against Iran, but all the operations it has done in Gaza, Lebanon and other places, we believe America has been complicit in all these cases.”
He highlighted the reaction of the countries in the region to the Israeli attack. “Since yesterday [Saturday] until now, we are regularly receiving messages from different countries, the statements they issued, the level of condemnation from different countries both in the region. It is really remarkable that it took place at this international level.”
Iran has to weigh the likely diplomatic damage to its improving relations with its Arab partners of mounting a further attack, the impact on its ailing economy, and the likelihood that a further Israeli strike would cause considerably more damage than Friday’s softening-up exercise.
Public support for Iran’s costly foreign policy is fragile, the latest polling conducted by the Middle East Institute shows.
