Iran is determined to discourage Israel and claims that the request made by France, Germany, and Britain “lacks political logic.” Following the murder of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month, Iran has rejected calls from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom to drop its threat against Israel.
The request “lacks political logic and contradicts principles of international law,” according to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani, who also stated that it “constitutes public and practical support” for Israel.
He stated that European nations “impudently asked Iran not to respond to a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “raised no objection to the international crimes” committed by Israel. Kanaani urged the three nations to “once and for all stand up against the war in Gaza and the warmongering of Israel” and stated that Iran was determined to discourage Israel.
The murder of Haniyeh on July 31 in Tehran, where he was attending the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, has been attributed to Israel by Hamas. There has been no claim of responsibility made by the Israeli government.
After Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli attack in Beirut, the attack on Haniyeh, in which his bodyguard also died, heightened tensions in the region amid Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 people. Kanaani stated, “The main factors behind the regional expansion of the Gaza crisis are the inaction of the United Nations Security Council and the extensive political and military support of Western governments to the Zionist regime [Israel].”
A joint statement urging de-escalation was issued on Monday by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and French President Emmanuel Macron. It stated, “We call on Iran and its allies to refrain from attacks that would further escalate regional tensions and jeopardize the opportunity to agree on a ceasefire [in Gaza] and the release of [Israeli] hostages.” These attacks would also put Israel’s hostages in jeopardy.
According to their governments, Scholz and Starmer also had separate phone conversations with Pezeshkian on Monday. According to the prime minister’s office, Starmer told Pezeshkian that war was not in anyone’s best interest and urged him not to attack Israel. According to a statement released by his spokesperson, Scholz urged Pezeshkian to “do everything possible to prevent a further military escalation,” expressed “great concern about the danger of a regional conflagration in the Middle East,” and stated that “the spiral of violence in the Middle East must be broken now.”
