The foreign ministry spokesman says Iran’s recent strikes on positions held by terrorists in neighboring countries conveyed “a clear message” to those who had to get it.
Nasser Kan’ani made the remarks at a weekly press briefing on Monday, almost a week after Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched missile strikes on an Israeli spy base in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and a gathering of anti-Iran terrorist groups, especially Daesh, in northwestern Syria.
The elite military force also carried out simultaneous drone and missile attacks on two bases belonging to the Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group in Pakistan.
“These actions were a clear message to those who should have received it,” Kan’ani said.
“Iran is sensitive to national security and the security of its citizens. Simultaneously, it stresses friendly ties and implementation of bilateral agreements and understandings with its neighbors to ensure regional security, seeking to develop relations with neighboring states.”
He also provided details on the preemptive operation against terrorists in Pakistan.
“The attack came from an immediate necessity to deal with the terrorists who were ready to operate. Perhaps, they were only about half an hour away from the common border. They were ready to attack the Iranian border, the country’s bases and possibly our citizens,” he added.
Israel’s anti-Iran acts won’t go unanswered
The Iranian diplomat also referred to Israel’s latest terrorist acts against Iran, saying they will not go unanswered.
Israel assassinated five IRGC military advisors in a Saturday airstrike on a residential building west of the Syrian capital Damascus.
The targeted killing came nearly a month after another terrorist Israeli strike martyred Brigadier General Seyyed Razi Mousavi, a senior IRGC military advisor, in a Damascus neighborhood.
Kan’ani said that Israel is constantly seeking to spark tensions and war in the region in a bid to get itself out of a self-made crisis and quagmire in the Gaza Strip.
“Iran will not play in the sinister plot devised by the Zionist regime,” he emphasized.
Commenting on Israeli officials’ anti-Iran rhetoric, Kan’ani said that the baseless claims show the level of the threat that the regime poses to regional and international security.
“Such claims are empty, but of course we will not leave any action against Iran unanswered,” he said.
Tensions have ratcheted up in the region since the start of Israel’s brutal war on Gaza that has so far killed at least 25,105 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 62,681 others.
South Africa has filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over Isarel’s genocidal actions against Palestinians in besieged Gaza.
Kan’ani said Iran has supported “the good, responsible, honorable and courageous action” of the South African government and announced its political position in support of South Africa.
Touching on Iran’s relations with Iraq, he said that the ties are strong and that Tehran-Baghdad contacts are continuous and on a daily basis.
He further noted that Iran’s concerns can be eased by the full implementation of a security agreement signed between the two neighboring countries last year.
The spokesman also referred to recent reports about Saudi Arabia’s intermediation between Iran and the United States, saying he did not confirm the news that the Saudis are going to play a role in this regard.
“However, the Americans use paths to send messages. The relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia are good and developing. There is a serious will to expand cooperation,” he pointed out.
