Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that Israel is attempting to provoke a war in the region and involve its primary ally, the United States, in military conflict with the Islamic Republic.
Araghchi made the comments in an interview with AFP on Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he attended an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers.
When asked about Israeli threats against Iran, Araghchi warned that any attack on the Islamic Republic would lead to widespread conflict. “I think that the threat of war against Iran is a threat that is just talked about. Implementing this threat would be a very big danger and would turn into a widespread fire in the region.”
The minister said that if Israel and its allies believed they could achieve their objectives through military action, they would have done so by now.
“I believe that if an attack on Iran were to take place, this attack could turn into a widespread fire in the region; not that we will do that. It is Israel's desire to involve the other countries in the region in a war,” he said.
Araghchi accused Israel of long-term plotting to draw the United States into conflict with Iran. “This is precisely an Israeli plan to drag America into war, and America is extremely vulnerable if it enters a war in the region. They themselves know this.”
He emphasized that both Israel and the U.S., along with their allies, are fully aware of Iran’s capabilities. “If rationality prevails, even the permission for threatening Iran should not be given, let alone an actual military attack,” he added.
“We have the ability to respond very strongly and in a fully proportionate and balanced manner. The Israelis themselves know, and others in the region know, that any action taken against Iran will be followed by a similar action against Israel,” he said.
MNA/IRN