Iran’s retaliatory operation against Israel was a “necessary and proportionate” action taken in defense of the country’s national security, says Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani.

Kan’ani made the remarks during a press briefing on Monday, a day after Iranian Armed Forces launched hundreds of missiles and drones at the occupied territories in retaliation for the Israeli regime’s April 1 terrorist strike on the Islamic Republic’s consulate in Syria.

“Iran’s action was necessary and proportionate and targeted military sites. Iran acted to defend its national security and interests given the lack of action by the UN Security Council and ensuing irresponsible behavior of the US, Britain and France,” he said.

Kan’ani also stressed that the Islamic Republic does not seek an escalation of regional tensions, adding, however, that the country will act “more strongly” within the framework of the UN Charter to deter and punish an aggressor who crosses its red lines.

Overnight on Saturday and early Sunday morning, more than 300 Iranian drones and missiles rained down on targets in the Israeli-occupied lands.

The large-scale operation came less than two weeks after Israeli warplanes bombed the consular annex of Iran’s embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing seven members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) who were on an advisory mission to the Arab country.

Also in his remarks, the top diplomat said that Iran, as “a power that creates security”, exercised its inherent right to defend itself under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

“Iran and its diplomatic apparatus and Armed Forces acted professionally… and delivered a legitimate response to the [Israeli] regime’s act of aggression. Iran acted logically and responsibly,” he added.

“We had issued necessary warnings before taking action …, acted powerfully and will continue to do so.”

Legitimate attack 

Commenting on the Western countries‘ condemnation of the retaliatory operation, Kan’ani said that they should take into account that the attack was legitimate and “appreciate Iran’s restraint concerning regional security and peace in recent months.”

“Instead of making accusations against Iran, they (the Western states) should ask themselves what they have done in the course of seven months of an open genocide and why they have not fulfilled their legal and moral responsibility towards Palestine,” he noted.

Israel waged a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

So far, Israel has killed at least 33,797 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 76,465 others.