Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said his country has sent several "messages" to the US to assure it that Tehran does not seek to "spread tension" in the Middle East with Israel.
Iran insists it does not seek to expand the conflict in the Middle East
"What can exacerbate the tension in the region is the behavior of the Zionist regime," Amirabdolakhian said upon his arrival overnight in New York for a meeting of the UN Security Council.
Israel yesterday pointed out that it retains "the right to defend itself" against Iran, after the attack launched by Tehran on the night of Saturday into Sunday against Israeli territory with drones and missiles.
"Messages Sent"
Amirabdolakhian insisted that "messages were sent before and after the operation" to the US, mainly through the Swiss embassy in Tehran which also represents US interests. These messages were aimed "to contribute to the correct understanding of Iran's actions", according to him.
"We clearly told the Americans that the decision (…) to respond to the Israeli regime," after the blow attributed to Israel against the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, "was final," the Iranian minister explained.
"We tried to make it clear to the US in these messages that we do not seek the spread of tension in the region," he added.
As APE-MPE reports, in New York Amirabdolakhian is going to talk with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and with foreign ministers on the sidelines of a meeting of the Security Council, which is going to consider the request for the inclusion of Palestine as a full member state in the UN.