“Our next response will be immediate and at a maximum level in case the Israeli regime embarks on adventurism again and takes actions against the interests of Iran,” Amirabdollahian told CNN’s Erin Burnett in an exclusive interview in New York on Thursday.
The full text of the interview is as follows:
Speaking from the Iranian Permanent Mission at the United Nations, Amirabdollahian said, Iran sincerely hoped Israel would not repeat “the previous egregious error.”
“If the Israeli regime commits the grave error again, our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them,” Amirabdollahian said, noting that this warning had been communicated to the White House via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.
“We do not seek to create tension and crisis or increase such situations in West Asia and we sincerely hope the Israeli regime does not repeat the previous egregious error,” he said.
The details of a potential “maximum response” have been planned by Iran’s armed forces, he added.
Amirabdollahian also said he is hopeful that any potential Israeli actions would be stopped by the US and that the White House “will not give renewed permission for adventure-seeking Israel".
“We believe that America will calculate according to messages that were exchanged between Washington and Tehran over the past six months,” he said, when asked whether American assets could be targeted if the US helps to defend against incoming missiles against Iran.
“In (the) previous operation, we announced to the Americans that we will not target American bases and installations in the region other than if we come across a condition in which the United States of America puts itself beside the Israeli regime in order to expand the warfare intentions,” he said.
Amirabdollahian also said the intent of the Iranian strike on Israel last weekend was ”to warn” and to “have taken equal action” and “to let it (be) known we do have the means to respond.”
He said the more than 300 missiles and drones fired by Iran on Saturday “stayed within a minimum of frameworks” and the action was “legitimate defense” in response to the Israeli strike on the Isranian consulate in Damascus.
“Our operations in response were carried out at a minimum because we were not seeking to hit multiple targets,” he said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps launched a missile and drone operation dubbed 'True Promise' against the Zionist regime on the night of April 13 in response to an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate on April 1.
Iran’s anti-Israel operation was conducted by Shahed 131/136 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Kheibar Shekan ballistic missiles, Emad ballistic missiles, and Paveh cruise missiles.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has repeatedly said that carrying out the defensive operation and punishing the Zionist regime was the only option left for Iran.
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