Iran has rejected European countries’ attempts at mediation amid rising tensions in the Middle East, insisting on its right to launch a retaliatory strike on Israel.
“These calls are politically one-sided and illogical, as they encourage a regime [Israel] to commit even more crimes in the region,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani in Tehran.
“Iran does not need advice or permission from abroad to defend its security and territorial integrity.”
European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, had called on Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to prevent further military escalation in the region.
However, Pezeshkian reportedly told the trio that Israel was to blame for the recent crisis and needed to be punished.
To seriously prevent an escalation, he argued, the West should condemn the Israeli government and stop ignoring what he called war crimes.
United States President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he believed a Gaza ceasefire could be enough to stop Iran from launching retaliatory airstrikes.
“That’s my expectation, but we’ll see,” he said.
“It’s getting hard to reach a ceasefire deal, but I’m not giving up. We’ll see what Iran does, and we’ll see what happens if there’s any attack. But I’m not giving up.”
Meanwhile, Cyprus has completed preparations for a potential evacuation of foreigners from Lebanon and Israel, according to Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos.
“Cyprus could accommodate a large number of people, including citizens of other EU countries and third-country nationals, provided they travel on to their home countries in due time,” he said.
However, Ersin Tatar, the leader of the Turkish Cypriots in the Turkish-occupied north of the island, criticized the plans, describing the offer of assistance to evacuees as irresponsible.
“Cyprus could become a target of retaliation from groups in the Middle East,” he said, accusing Israel of attempting to carry out genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides of aiding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war interests.
Kombos dismissed the accusations as baseless, stating that the preparations were for humanitarian aid.
