Iran’s leadership is considering a response to the recent Israeli airstrikes, prompting the country to call for a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday.
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, stated that Tehran is not seeking war, but will respond “appropriately” to the Israeli strikes.
“We do not seek war, but we will defend the rights of our nation and country,” Pezeshkian said during a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
He added, “We will provide an appropriate response to the aggression of the Zionist regime.”
It remains unclear whether Pezeshkian was suggesting a direct military response, an increase in efforts to arm regional proxies like Hezbollah, or the possibility of other diplomatic protests following Saturday’s airstrikes.
His comments come amid ongoing debates in Iran about whether the Israeli attack—less severe than some had anticipated—merits a military response or if inaction would make the country appear weak.
The United States has expressed concerns that the ongoing cycle of retaliatory strikes between the region’s largest military powers could escalate into a full-scale regional war.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, remarked on Sunday, in his first response to the attack, that the “evil committed by the Zionist regime two nights ago should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated.”
Khamenei said Iran’s power should be demonstrated to Israel, adding: “It is up to the authorities to determine how to convey the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli regime and to take actions that serve the interests of this nation and country.”
His remarks suggest there is no immediate military response planned, as Iran weighs its options.
Shortly after the attack, Tehran played it down, saying it had caused limited damage, and Joe Biden called for a halt to escalation.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, condemned the attacks, which Israel launched in retaliation for a barrage of ballistic missiles fired by Iran this month, and called for the UN security council to convene on Monday.
“The Israeli regime’s actions constitute a grave threat to international peace and security and further destabilise an already fragile region,” Araqchi said in a letter to the 15-member council on Saturday.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, in alignment with the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and under international law, reserves its inherent right to legal and legitimate response to these criminal attacks at the appropriate time,” he wrote.
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