Iran dismisses European calls for restraint amid Mideast tensions

Iran called on E3 countries to "once and for all stand up against the war in Gaza and the warmongering of Israel."

An Iranian woman walks past an anti-Israel banner with a picture of Iranian missiles on a street in Tehran, Iran April 19, 2024. (photo credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)
An Iranian woman walks past an anti-Israel banner with a picture of Iranian missiles on a street in Tehran, Iran April 19, 2024.
(photo credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)

Calls from France, Germany and Britain that Iran should exercise restraint with regards to Israel "lack political logic and contradict principles of international law," Iran's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The three European countries issued a statement on Monday calling on Iran and its allies to refrain from attacks against Israel following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tehran last month.

Tehran and its allies, Hamas and the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, have accused Israel of carrying out the assassination. The Israeli government has made no claim of responsibility.

"Without any objection to the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel), the E3 statement impudently requires Iran not to respond to a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.

 Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, attend an endorsement ceremony in Tehran, Iran, July 28, 2024.  (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, attend an endorsement ceremony in Tehran, Iran, July 28, 2024. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)

Deterrence 

Kanaani said Tehran was determined to deter Israel and called on Paris, Berlin, and London to "once and for all stand up against the war in Gaza and the warmongering of Israel."

"The inaction of the United Nations Security Council and the extensive political and military support of Western governments to the Zionist regime (Israel) are the main factors behind the regional expansion of the Gaza crisis," he said.