At UN, Iran says it will make Israel ‘regret’ reprisals

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday warned that Tehran would make Israel “regret” any attack on his country in response to the Islamic Republic’s weekend barrage of missiles and drones.

Tehran’s first-ever direct attack on Israel over the weekend came in the wake of a deadly attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, widely blamed on Israel.

Nearly all of the projectiles were intercepted before reaching their targets.

“Iran’s legitimate defence and countermeasures have been concluded.

“Therefore, the terrorist Israeli regime must be compelled to stop any further military adventurism against our interests,” the minister told the UN Security Council during a meeting on the Middle East.

“In case of any use of force by the Israeli regime, and violating our sovereignty, the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate a bit to assert its inherent rights, to give a decisive and proper response to it, to make the regime regret its actions.”

Israeli officials have not said when or where they would retaliate, but the country’s military chief has vowed a response.

Amir-Abdollahian called Iran’s actions “limited and proportionate,” adding that until recently, Tehran had shown “considerable restraint.”