Iran Tells UN It’s Ready to De-Escalate If Israel Stops ‘Adventurism’

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a UN Security Council meeting in New York on April 18.

(Bloomberg) — Iran is prepared to de-escalate tensions with Israel provided that it agrees to stop further military moves against Tehran’s interests, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said at the United Nations.

“Iran’s legitimate defense and countermeasures have been concluded,” Amirabdollahian told the UN Security Council Thursday. Israel “must be compelled to stop any further military adventurism against our interests.” If not, he said, Iran will “give a decisive and proper response” that will make Israel “regret its actions.”

Amirabdollahian said that Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend was “limited and minimal,” targeting only military bases. It was in response to an earlier Israeli strike on an Iranian consulate facility in Syria, he said. But Israeli officials have vowed to respond to the Iranian attack last weekend, even though the vast majority of incoming missiles and drones were stopped by Israel and allies including the US and UK.

In an interview on CNN Thursday night, he said “in case the Israeli regime embarks on adventurism again and takes action against the interests of Iran, the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level.”

“We’ve announced to the White House, sent a message to the White House and Washington D.C., the administration in which we’ve reiterated that if the Israeli regime commits the great error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them,” Amirabdollahian added.

Earlier in the day, he joined foreign ministers from countries including Jordan, Brazil and Spain in a high-level debate on the Middle East hours before a Security Council vote on Palestine’s bid to become a full-fledged member of the UN, which was vetoed by the US.

Twelve of 15 Security Council members voted in favor of the proposal, while the UK and Switzerland abstained.

Amirabdollahian’s first visit to New York since the escalation of tensions with Israel has stirred angst in the US, with a Republican lawmaker calling this week for the State Department to revoke his visa. Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the foreign minister’s movements would be strictly limited and “I would not expect to see him, for example, snapping selfies on top of the Empire State Building.”

Earlier: Iranian Diplomat’s UN Visit Stirs US Angst After Israel Attack

Earlier in the debate, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council the Middle East “is on a knife edge,” saying that the region can only find lasting peace once there’s a resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

(Updates with CNN interview, Security Council vote, starting in fourth paragraph.)

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