Iran criticizes UK's 'astonishing' support for Israeli crimes in Gaza

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has criticized Britain's extensive support for Israel even as the regime continues to kill innocent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

"What good is it for the British government to provide this amount of irresponsible support [to Israel]?" Amir-Abdollahian asked British Foreign Secretary David Cameron during a phone conversation on Monday.

It is strange that Britain is concerned about Iran's response to Israel's brutal attack on the Islamic Republic's diplomatic premises in Damascus, but shows no concern about the thousands of tons of bombs dropped on Palestinian homes by the Tel Aviv regime over the past six months.

He emphasized that Iran's retaliatory strikes against Israel, dubbed Operation True Promise, were carried out in line with the principle of legitimate self-defense as stipulated in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran does not welcome the escalation of tension in the region but if the Israeli regime is after adventurism, our next response will be immediate, stronger and more extensive," the top Iranian diplomat emphasized.

Amir-Abdollahian said the operation against Israel aimed to punish the regime for its deadly attacks against the consular section of Iran's embassy in Damascus on April 1, which killed Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, his deputy, General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, and five of their accompanying officers.

Era of strategic patience 'over'; Israel's war between wars defeated: Raeisi's deputy

An Iranian official says the IRGC’s retaliatory operation on the occupied territories means that the era of strategic patience is over.

In response, on Saturday night, the IRGC targeted the Israeli-occupied territories with a barrage of drones and missiles. The retaliatory strikes inflicted damage on Israeli military bases across the occupied territories.

The extent of the damage on Israeli military bases across the occupied territories is yet to be specified.

However, informed sources told Press TV that all the hypersonic missiles used in Iran's punitive strikes against Israel hit their targets after evading the regime's air defense systems.

The British foreign minister, for his part, expressed concern over the escalation of tensions in the region after Iran's retaliatory response to Israel.

Cameron said Iran's military operation against Israel was very worrying and will heighten tension in the region.

However, he added, Britain will at the same time ask Israel not to take any action in response because it will deteriorate the situation.

Israel's war crimes, genocide, hybrid war in Gaza root causes of crisis in region

In a phone call with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg on Monday, Amir-Abdollahian said Israel's war crimes, genocide and hybrid war in the Gaza Strip are the root causes of crisis in the region.

He once again reiterated that Iran has never sought to escalate tensions in the region but the Israeli regime had apparently misinterpreted Tehran's restraint.

The Austrian foreign minister, for his part, said the continuation of conflicts would harm all the countries in the region.

Schallenberg emphasized the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and added that more diplomatic consultations and talks are necessary to solve the crisis in the Strip.

Austria, along with the European Union, has condemned Israel's attacks on Iran's diplomatic facilities in Damascus, he noted.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began on October 7 in the aftermath of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas’s Operation Al-Aqsa Storm. It has so far killed at least 33,797 people, mostly children and women, and wounded 76,465 others with thousands more presumed dead under the rubble.

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