Israel tells the UN that it reserves the right to “retaliate” for Iran’s attack and Tehran replies that it did so in “self-defense”

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan He stressed on Sunday that his country reserves the right to retaliatedespite appeals from the Secretary General and all countries to ease tension.

“This attack crossed all red lines and Israel reserves the legal right to respond. We are not the frog in the boiling water: “We are a nation of lions”Gilad Erdan said this in his speech to the Security Council.

“After such a massive attack on Israel, the whole world, let alone Israel, cannot stand by and watch. We defend our future,” proclaimed Erdan, who expressly thanked the United States for its support.

The Tehran regime defended itself. Iran “does not seek escalation or war in the region” of the Middle East, its ambassador to the UN, Saeed Iravani, told the Security Council on Sunday, but at the same time “it will not hesitate to respond to any threat or aggression, in accordance with international law”.

The ambassador also clarified that his country “has no intention of entering into conflict with the United States in the region”, and in fact – he underlined – his country has demonstrated “commitment to peace and containment” after demonstrating the US involvement the US in the interception of Iranian drones and missiles.

“The Security Council has failed in its duty to maintain international peace and security” by not condemning the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. “Iran had no choice but to exercise its right to self-defense”the diplomat said, specifying that Tehran does not want an escalation, but that it will respond to “any threat or aggression”.

Now, if the United States were to launch an operation against Iranian citizens or interests, “we will use our inherent right to respond proportionately,” the diplomat warned.

Emergency meeting

“Neither the region nor the world can afford more wars”United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said this on Sunday, calling for “maximum restraint” at an emergency Security Council meeting called after Iran’s drone and missile attack on Israel.

“The Middle East is on the brink of collapse. The region’s population faces the real danger of widespread and devastating conflict. This is the time to de-escalate and de-escalate. “It’s time to show maximum restraint,” she insisted.

“It is crucial to avoid any actions that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East,” he added.

“Neither the region nor the world can afford more wars,” he insisted.

The Secretary General also reiterated his condemnation of the attack launched by Iran against Israel on Saturday, denouncing a “serious escalation”. He lashed out once again at the same time The attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 was attributed to Israelunderlining the “principle of inviolability” of diplomatic representations.

According to the Israeli military, Iran sent “a swarm of 300 killer drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles” overnight from Saturday to Sunday, an attack that the Israelis claim to have largely thwarted.

Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, Israel was the sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic.

But so far Tehran had refrained from attacking Israel frontally and the two countries were used to dealing through third parties, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah.

The Iranian offensive, named “Honest Promise”, It is a response to the attack that destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus and cost the lives of seven members of the Revolutionary Guard.

Iran accused Israel of this fact, which neither confirmed nor denied it.

This attack came more than six months after the start of the Israeli-led offensive in the Gaza Strip against the Iranian-backed Palestinian group Hamas. which further increased tensions between the two enemy countries.

Guterres on Sunday again called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and the release of hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel, which started the conflict in the Palestinian territories.

Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, called for this emergency meeting on Saturday and asked the Council to “unequivocally condemn Iran for this grave violation” and to “take action to designate” the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic. .

“It is time for the Security Council to take concrete measures against the Iranian threat,” he added in a letter to the Security Council.