Iran says it does not want war with Israel but vows to retaliate

Iran seems determined to retaliate the recent attack by Israel in its territory. Tehran vowed Sunday to respond to Israel’s strikes on the country this weekend, which it claims killed five people, but said it does not want to engage in war.

“We do not seek war, but we will defend the rights of the people and the nation, and we will give an appropriate response to the Zionist entity’s aggression,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said, rerported Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

The Iranian president warned tensions would escalate if Israel “continues its aggression and crimes” and accused the United States of “provoking the regime into committing these crimes.”

IRNA also quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying Iran was not seeking war, but adding that it would respond to any aggression by Israel at an “appropriate time.”

Israel has said its strikes on Iran early Saturday local time hit military targets and were in response to Iranian attacks on Israel earlier this month.

Israel’s chief of the general staff, Herzi Halevi, warned on Sunday that any threat against his country would be dealt with militarily. He added that Israel had “used only a portion” of its military capabilities during Saturday’s strikes on Iran.

“We will now see how things develop. We are prepared for all scenarios in every arena.”

Israel had a relatively muted public posture immediately after the strikes, which was intentional, according to a source familiar with the government’s thinking, aimed at giving Iran the opportunity to downplay the strikes and avoid further escalation.

Iranian government seemed to seize that opportunity initially, claiming the strikes caused only limited damage at military sites, even as it acknowledged that one civilian and four Iranian soldiers were killed.

The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Sunday that he has held phone calls with his Israeli and Iranian counterparts and urged for de-escalation.