Israel will bear consequences for attacking Iran: FM

Tehran, Oct 30 (IANS) Iran's Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi has said that Israel will bear the consequences for attacking Iran, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

At a meeting in the capital Tehran with the ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions, the United Nations offices, and international organisations in Iran, Araghchi said Israel and its "enablers" cannot avoid the political and legal responsibility for aggression on Iranian soil and must be held accountable for it, Xinhua news agency reported.

Iran "has fully reserved its legal right to respond appropriately to such a clear aggression", he said, while stressing that Iran would neither hesitate in doing so nor act hastily.

In the talks, Araghchi said thanks to its armed forces' "readiness and vigilance and the timely performance of the country's air defences", Iran managed to "neutralise the aggression".

Speaking to reporters following the meeting, he said that Tehran maintained that the US had "cooperated with Israel" in its aggression against Iran and "thus, the main partners in the strikes are the United States and certain European countries".

The Israel Defense Forces announced early Saturday that it conducted "precise and targeted" airstrikes on targets in Iran in response to recent attacks from the country.

Iran's air defence headquarters said it successfully countered the Israeli attacks, which resulted in only "limited damage".

--IANS

int/sha