Iran’s response if
Israel takes any further military action against it would be “immediate and at a maximum level,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN Thursday, as fears rise of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
“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,” Amir-Abdollahian told CNN’s Erin Burnett in an exclusive interview in New York.
His remarks come in the wake of an unprecedented Iranian attack on Israel last week that Tehran said was retaliation for a deadly suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Syria – placing the region on edge as Israel vowed to strike back in return.
Hours after Amir-Abdollahian’s comments, an explosion was heard close to 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 on Israel in response to the April 1 attack on its Damascus consulate that killed at least seven officials, including a top Iranian commander.
The Iranian attack on April 13 appeared designed to maximize spectacle while minimizing casualties, and Israel and its allies downed the vast bulk of the projectiles.
The tit-for-tat strikes have brought a decades long shadow war between Israel and Iran out in the open and sent fear coursing through the Middle East.
Israel’s allies, including the United States, have called for restraint from Israel in a bid to prevent strikes from escalating into a regional war, as Israel’s ongoing war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza sends tensions between it and its neighbors soaring.
It is unclear if Israel will listen to the calls of its allies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said Israel will
make its “own decisions” when responding to Iran’s airstrikes.