Iranian attack on Israel will be ‘measured & well calculated,’ new FM tells Western diplomats

Iranian foreign ministers affirms regime still plans to retaliate against Israel

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The Iranian regime still plans to attack Israel but in a measured way, Iran’s new foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated in a series of phone calls with Western diplomats over the past few days.

Following a “congratulatory call” from Italy’s top diplomat, Araghchi said they discussed the region at length: “Iran reaction to Israeli terrorist attack in Tehran is definitive, and will be measured & well calculated. We do not fear escalation, yet do not seek it – unlike Israel,” he wrote on 𝕏.

Araghchi also told his Italian colleague that the regime saw the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, which it blames on Israel, as “an unforgivable violation of Iran’s security and sovereignty.”

On July 30, Israel eliminated Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr in a late-night targeted strike in Beirut. Hours later, Haniyeh was killed in a blast in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Israel hasn’t commented on the death of Haniyeh.

While Hezbollah and Iran both vowed revenge against Israel, only Hezbollah has so far launched an attack against Israel, which was largely thwarted on Sunday morning. In a speech on Sunday evening, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah subsequently claimed the attack was successful but stressed that the Iranian response was still forthcoming.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said he welcomed Hezbollah’s attack on “strategic facilities” in Israel, and said it was evidence that Israel’s crimes would not go unanswered.

Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, told Araghchi he had “called for restraint and to pursue a constructive approach, in order to stop the cycle of military actions in the region, which only risks bringing more suffering.”

Tajani also called on the regime to moderate Hezbollah “to avert an escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, where Italian soldiers of the UNIFIL contingent are operating, and towards the Houthis in order to avoid an increase in tensions in the Red Sea area, where Italy plays a leading role in the (European Union’s) Aspides mission.”

Araghchi has held a series of phone calls with Western diplomats in recent days after being sworn into his new post last week. The former nuclear negotiator, known as a close affiliate of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has said he wants to open a new chapter in relations with Western countries.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the development of relations with the European Union in an environment based on mutual respect,” Araghchi said in a statement after talking to EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell.

Borrell said they discussed “prospects for renewed engagement on all files of mutual interest,” the “need for de-escalation and restraint,” and “halting military cooperation” between Iran and Russia.

Araghchi also spoke with the French and British foreign ministers, reiterating the regime’s right to retaliate against Israel, according to the state news agency IRNA.

“The Islamic Republic does not want to extend the war or raise regional tensions, but it will not deviate from its absolute right to respond to the terrorist act by the Zionist regime,” Araghchi told the British Secretary of State David Lammy, according to the Iranian foreign ministry.