Iran Pledges 'Appropriate' Response To Israeli Airstrikes But Says It Does Not Seek War

Iran's leadership said yesterday it was weighing a response to this weekend's Israeli airstrikes as the country called on the UN security council to meet today.

- Patrick Wintour Andrew Roth

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. He added: "We will give an appropriate response to the aggression of the Zionist regime."

It is not clear if Pezeshkian was indicating Iran would contemplate a direct military response, step up efforts to arm regional proxies including Hezbollah, or consider other diplomatic protests in response to Saturday's airstrikes.

His remarks came amid a debate in Iran over whether the Israeli attack, more limited than some had predicted, warranted a military response and if Tehran would be seen as weak if it did 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 yesterday in his first response to the attack that the "evil committed by the Zionist regime two nights ago should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated".

He 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."