Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke on the phone with European counterparts immediately after his country’s rocket attack on Israel, state media reported on Wednesday.
According to Iran’s IRNA news agency, Araghchi spoke with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and with colleagues in Britain, France and other countries.
The rocket attack on Israel is now complete, Araghchi was quoted by IRNA as saying.
“But if the Zionist regime takes retaliatory actions, our response will be even harsher,” the minister said, referring to possible Israeli retaliation. He emphasized that Iran is not seeking escalation, but does not fear war either.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it fired 200 rockets into Israel on Tuesday evening. The attack was in retaliation for the killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian general, the powerful elite branch of Iran’s armed forces said.
Initial estimates by the Israeli army put the number of rockets fired at around 180.
Three Israeli air bases and the headquarters of Israel’s foreign intelligence service Mossad were targeted in the attack, according to Iran.
