UN Security Council's inaction prompted Iran to attack Israel: Amir-Abdollahian

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says the United Nations Security Council's inaction on Israel's attacks on Iran's diplomatic premises in Syria prompted Tehran to take a retaliatory action against the regime.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone call with South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor on Saturday, referring to Iran's retaliatory strikes on the Israeli-occupied territories last week -- dubbed Operation True Promise.

After Israel's airstrikes on Iranian diplomatic sites in the Syrian capital of Damascus, the UN Security Council refrained from giving a proper response to the move while some permanent members of the world body (the US, Britain and France) blocked condemnation of the crime, he said.

Under its inherent right and the legitimate self-defense principle, the Islamic Republic then hit two Israeli military and intelligence bases that were used by the regime to conduct the attacks in Syria, the top Iranian diplomat emphasized.

"After the operation (True Promise), Iran announced to the international community, including the United States, that it does not seek to expand the war, but if the Israeli regime takes any action against the Islamic Republic of Iran again, it will respond strongly," Amir-Abdollahian pointed out.

Pro-Zionist media desperately trying to turn Israeli defeat into victory: Iran Foreign Minister

The Iranian foreign minister says the shooting down of quadcopters over the central city of Isfahan caused no damage or injuries.

In a multi-pronged attack, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at the occupied territories on April 13 in response to the regime's aggression on the Iranian diplomatic facilities in the Syrian capital 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.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Amir-Abdollahian hailed South Africa's historical initiative to file a lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the regime’s genocidal acts in the Palestinian territory.

In its interim ruling on January 26, the top UN court ruled that Pretoria's claims were plausible, ordering provisional measures. The Hague-based court also said that the Israeli regime had to implement steps to prevent genocidal acts and allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza.

Israel launched its brutal US-backed war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out its historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 34,012 Palestinians and injured 76,833 others.

For her part, the South African foreign minister stressed the importance of establishing an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

She added that a visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi to South Africa in on the agenda of the African nation's political agenda for 2024.

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