CNN
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Iran's response if Israel takes any further military action against it will be “immediate and at the maximum level,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN Thursday, as fears grow of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
“In the event that the Israeli regime again ventures out and takes action against Iran's interests, the next response from our side will be immediate and at the maximum level,” Amir Abdollahian told CNN's Erin Burnett in an exclusive interview in New York.
His comments follow an unprecedented Iranian attack on Israel last week that Tehran said was in response to a deadly Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria – putting the region on edge as Israel vowed to retaliate in return.
Hours after Amir Abdullahian's statements, an explosion was heard near the airport in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported early Friday, citing local sources. The cause of this explosion is unclear.
Last Saturday, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation for the April 1 attack on its consulate in Damascus that killed at least seven officials, including a senior Iranian commander.
The Iranian attack on April 13 seemed intended to maximize the spectacle while minimizing human casualties, and Israel and its allies shot down the bulk of the projectiles.
The tit-for-tat has brought the decades-long shadow war between Israel and Iran into the open and sent fear into the Middle East.
Israel's allies, including the United States, have called on Israel to show restraint in an attempt to prevent the strikes from escalating into a regional war, as Israel's ongoing war against the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza has heightened tensions between it and its neighbours.
It is unclear whether Israel will listen to the calls of its allies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel will make “its own decisions” when responding to Iranian airstrikes.
Speaking from the Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Amir Abdollahian said Iran sincerely hopes that Israel will not repeat the “previous grave mistake,” referring to the apparent Israeli strike in Damascus.
Amir Abdollahian said: “If the Israeli regime commits the grave mistake again, our response will be decisive, categorical and regrettable for them,” noting that this warning was communicated to the White House through the Swiss embassy in Tehran.
He said: “We do not seek to create tension and crises or increase such situations in the Middle East, and we sincerely hope that the Israeli regime will not repeat the previous grave mistake.”
He added that the Iranian Armed Forces had planned the details of a possible “maximum response.”
Amir Abdullahian also said he hopes the United States can stop potential Israeli actions and that the White House “will not give renewed imprimatur to adventure-seeking” by Israel.
“We believe that America will count according to the messages that have been exchanged between us over the past six months,” he said in response to a question about whether American assets could be targeted if the United States helped defend against incoming missiles against Iran.
He added: “In the previous operation, we announced to the Americans that we would not target American bases and installations in the region unless we encountered a situation in which the United States of America positions itself alongside the Israeli government for the sake of expansion.” Warlike intentions,” he said.
Amir Abdollahian also said that the intent of the Iranian strike on Israel last weekend was to “warn,” “take similar measures,” and “declare that we have the means to respond.”
He said that more than 300 missiles and drones launched by Iran on Saturday “stayed within minimum frameworks” and that the action was a “legitimate defense” in response to the suspected Israeli strike.
He added: “Our operations in response were carried out at the very least because we were not seeking to strike multiple targets.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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