Iran will not remain silent in the face of aggression, President Masoud Pezeshkiyan told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron yesterday, state media reported.
"Iran will never remain silent on aggression against its interests and security," Pezeshkijian told Macron during a phone call, criticizing Israel for the ten-month war in Gaza.
"If the United States and Western countries really want to prevent war in the region, they must force that regime (Israel) to stop the genocide and attacks on Gaza and accept a ceasefire," Pezeshkiyan said.
Tensions have risen in the Middle East since the killing of former Palestinian militant group Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week and after an Israeli attack in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Iran will respond to the killing of Haniyeh "at the right time and in the appropriate form", Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Khani said in a statement.
An emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation was held yesterday in Saudi Arabia at the request of Iran to discuss the murder of Haniyeh, Reuters reported.
Tehran and Iran-aligned groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah accused Israel of the July 31 killing of Haniyeh, one of a series of assassinations of senior Hamas figures during the war.
Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh's death.
French President Macron told Pezeshkian yesterday that he must do everything in his power to avoid escalation in the region and that the cycle of retaliation must be stopped, the Elysée Palace said.
Macron said Iran must call on the "destabilizing actors it supports" to show maximum restraint in order to avoid a major conflict.
The US has told Iran and Israel that the conflict in the Middle East must not escalate, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Tuesday. He said that the US will continue to defend Israel from attack, but he stressed that everyone in the region must be aware of the risk of escalation and misjudgment.
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