Pro-Zionist media desperately trying to turn ‘israeli’ defeat into victory: Iran Foreign Minister

“In a desperate attempt, the media supporters of the Zionist regime (Israel) tried to make a victory out of their repeated defeat,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a meeting with ambassadors of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in New York on Friday.

The sound of explosions has been heard near Isfahan and the northwestern city of Tabriz after air defense systems fired at “suspicious objects” early Friday.

Iranian officials said important facilities in the Isfahan Province, especially nuclear facilities, are completely safe and no incidents have been reported.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Amir-Abdollahian said Iran’s retaliatory strikes on the Israeli-occupied territories on April 13 — dubbed Operation True Promise — were in line with the legitimate right to self-defense and international law.

“Although the Islamic Republic of Iran was able to carry out this operation on a more extensive scale, it only targeted parts of the military positions of the Zionist regime from where the attack on our country’s embassy in Damascus had taken place,” he added.

The top Iranian diplomat emphasized that the country succeeded in obtaining its objectives “within the framework of a minimum response” and conveying its message to Israel.

He warned that in case of any Israeli adventurism or act against Iran’s interests, Tehran’s response will be “immediate, maximum, and firm.”

“This message has been clearly conveyed to the US and other sides,” Amir-Abdollahian said.

Israel’s warmongering, genocide and war crimes against the people of Palestine, particularly in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, are the root cause of the ongoing crises in the region, he added.

Peace will be restored to the entire region if Israel ends its war in Gaza, he said, adding that all the regional countries will benefit from it.

Iran attaches special importance to regional security, he noted.

He said Israel massacres and continues the genocidal war against the defenseless Palestinian children and women in Gaza with the support of the US and its allies.

In a multi-pronged attack, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at the occupied territories in response to the regime’s aggression on the Iranian diplomatic facilities in the Syrian capital of Damascus on April 1.

The Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus had killed two generals of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, as well as five of their accompanying officers.

Following the operation, Iran warned Israel against taking any retaliatory actions and urged the United States to try not to involve itself in the conflict.