Tension between Israel and Iran: “A new escalation”

Turkey called on Tehran to avoid a “new escalation” in the region, after the Islamic Republic launched an attack against Israel on Saturday night. “The Turkish Foreign Ministry Hakan Fidan spoke yesterday by phone with his Iranian counterpart (…) and declared that we do not want a new escalation in the region,” said a source in Turkish diplomacy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian declared that the retaliation against Israel “had ended,” but that Tehran reserved the right to act “more firmly” in the event of an Israeli attack.

Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rachid also called for “reducing tensions” in the Middle East.

It is necessary to “stop the aggression against the Gaza Strip and find a solution to the Palestinian issue, since it is a key element for the stability of the region,” the president said in a statement.

Syria claimed that Iran used its right to self-defense by attacking Israel on Saturday night, in response to an Israeli bombing of its consulate in Damascus. “Iran’s response (…) is the legitimate right to self-defense” against Israel, declared Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian by telephone, according to the official SANA news agency.