The statement followed Iran’s military response on Saturday night to Israel’s lethal attack on Tehran’s Consulate in Damascus that left 10 dead including two generals visiting Syria and diplomatic staff.
“We urge all parties involved to exercise restraint. We expect the states in the region to resolve existing problems through political and diplomatic means. We believe it is important that constructive international actors contribute to this,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.
Iran’s Saturday’s operation reportedly involved some 185 drones, 110 surface-to-surface missiles and 36 cruise missiles, with Israel deploying its layered air and missile defenses, and receiving help from the US, Britain, France and Jordan in repelling the attack, according to Sputnik News.
Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri asserted Iran’s punitive action, dubbed Operation True Promise, had accomplished its objectives, which were restricted to military targets.
Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, indicated this attack was carried out within the framework of the right of self-defense, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, in response to attacks on Iranian facilities in the region, including the attack on the Consulate in Damascus on April 1, which Russia strongly condemned.
“Unfortunately, due to the position of its Western members, the UN Security Council was unable to adequately respond to the attack on the Iranian consular mission,” the Russian statements recalled.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations announced Sunday that its overnight retaliatory attack on Israel had “concluded,” but warned that “should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe.”
The mission also warned US and its allies, stressing that the conflict between Iran and “the rogue Israeli regime” is one “from which the US must stay away!”
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami urged Israel to “stop its past behavior and learn from” Iran’s overnight attack, warning that “if the Zionist regime shows any response, our reaction will certainly be much harsher based on this new experience we have gained” from testing Israel’s capabilities.
“From now on, if the Zionist regime attacks our interests, assets, figures, and citizens at any point on Earth, it will face counterattack from within the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Salami stressed.
A UN Security Council was called for Sunday to discuss the latest developments, in which Iranian and Israeli officials might talk.
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