Iran says attack against Israel was ‘necessary and appropriate’

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran's attack on Israel was “necessary and appropriate” and was aimed at military targets, the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday.

In a news conference in the capital Tehran, ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the military action became necessary after a lack of action by the UN Security Council and also due to “irresponsible behavior” shown by the US, Britain and France.

On April 1, an attack on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, which Iran blamed on Israel, resulted in the killing of seven Iranian military officials, including a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for Syria and Lebanon.

After the attack, top Iranian political and military leadership vowed “definitive revenge.”

Late on Saturday, IRGC launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel in an operation, dubbed True Promise, that lasted several hours, inflaming the already tense regional situation.

Iranian officials, including President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, defended the military action, the first direct attack on Israel, as a “legitimate defense.”

Kanaani, addressing the weekly presser in Tehran on Monday, echoed them, saying the attack targeting military sites in Israel was “in line with Iran’s inherent right to self-defense” and “within the framework of legitimate defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.”

He said the attack was in response to Israel’s “repeated aggression”, including the attack on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, adding that the Iranian military acted “professionally and responsibly.”

Repeating what Iran’s foreign minister said on Sunday, Kanaani said Tehran had given “necessary warnings before the military action in a diplomatic way.”

Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday said Iran had “communicated to our neighbors and allies that our reaction would unequivocally manifest as a legitimate defense”, adding that the objective was “legitimate defense” and revolved around “punishing the aggressive regime of Israel.”

Kanaani, reiterating the same, said Iran has “issued warnings” against the potential utilization of airspace and territory of regional countries by the US in support of Israel.

Amid speculation that Israel might respond to Iran’s strikes, there are reports that US officials have urged Tel Aviv not to go ahead with any further military action.