TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Thursday that “legitimate defense” to punish Israel is a “necessity” as the regime violated international law and the Vienna conventions by attacking Iran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1.

Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in phone conversation with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

“When the regime of Israel violates international law and the Vienna conventions and fully transgresses the inviolability diplomatic staff and premises, legitimate defense is a necessity,” Amir Abdollahian noted.

He also said Iran’s “formidable foreign policy is to avoid tension” but Israel conducted an air raid on the consular section of the Iranian embassy on April 1 that led to the death of seven Iranian military advisors.

Iran’s chief diplomat said it was expected that Germany unequivocally condemn Israel’s attack on the Iranian diplomatic building.

He went on to ask: “Was the United States and Europe’s reaction at this level if a similar missile attack had been carried out against a diplomatic mission in Ukraine which is in war with Russia?”

Elsewhere in his dialogue with Baerbock, the foreign minister said, “Israel is an occupation regime and Palestine has right to legitimate defense.”

In a speech on Wednesday marking Eid al-Fitr, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, "The evil regime (of Israel) made a mistake and must be punished and will be punished." 

Amir Abdollahian added the only way to end to end the current crisis is to end “genocide and war crimes in Gaza.”

Amir Abdollahian criticized Germany for siding with Israel in its war against Gaza, saying the reason that Germany’s efforts to establish ceasefire in Gaza have not yielded results is that Berlin is “not impartial” in Israel’s “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.

Amir Abdollahian also said Tehran expects Germany not to repeat “baseless claims against Iran” and defend the rights of thousands of women and children in Gaza and other parts of the world that their rights are being trampled.

Germany wants Iran to show restraint

For her part, Berberock congratulated Amir Abdollahian on the arrival of the Eid –al Fitr and said the message of the Eid al-Fitr is peace and “in such a highly tense situation Germany expects the Islamic Republic of Iran to show restraint.” 

On Israel’s attack on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Baerbock said, “We openly insisted that diplomatic premises fully enjoy immunity.”

She also said the German government has been trying and will try to help bring the war in Gaza to an end politically.

Iran slams UK stance over Israeli strike

The foreign minister of Iran was also contacted on Thursday by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron to plead for “restraint” from the Islamic Republic, which has threatened to avenge an Israeli strike on Tehran’s consular office in Damascus.

The UK’s top diplomat, however, got a dressing-down from his Iranian counterpart over Britain’s refusal to condemn the aggression.

Amir Abdollahian censured the UK inaction in condemning the Israeli regime’s airstrike on the consular section of the Islamic Republic of Iran's embassy in Damascus.

Last Friday, the United States, France, and Britain all opposed a UN Security Council statement that would have denounced the Israeli strike and was authored by Russia.

Cameron and Amir Abdollahian spoke over the phone about the most recent events in the region as well as their two nations’ ties.

“Tehran has never sought to escalate tension in the region, but the Israeli regime's terrorist attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus and the silence of the United States and England means encouraging [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to continue waging war and expanding it in the region,” he said.

The top Iranian diplomat went on to stress the need to immediately stop genocide and war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank as the only effective way to return peace to the region.

Amir Abdollahian also mentioned the UK’s involvement in the U.S.-led military operation against Yemen in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which has been aimed at securing the Israeli interests in recent months.

“The root of the crisis is not in the Red Sea but in the genocide in Gaza,” he added.

Cameron warned against a further escalation of the disputes in the absence of Iran’s restraint.

He also voiced worry over the ongoing hostilities in the Red Sea related to the Gaza conflict, stating that the United States has put out a proposal that, if accepted by the opposing sides, may lead to a truce.

Cameron wished everyone a happy Eid al-Fitr and expressed pleasure with the advancements made in some areas of UK-Iranian collaboration.

The two parties also stated their intention to keep up their cooperative efforts to improve collaboration in a setting built on respect for one another.

Iran emphasizes more pressure needed to get Israel to cease genocide

In a phone conversation with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong on Thursday night, Amir Abdollahian also emphasized that more pressure must be used on Israel to cease the war and genocide in Gaza as well as the strategy of starving Gazans and forcing hunger on those living along the shore.

He also chastised the UN Security Council for failing to denounce the Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus.

“Some Western governments do not condemn this terrorist act, which clearly violates international law and international conventions. Whilst they continue to support the crimes of Zionists, they are simply urging Iran to exercise restraint,” he said.

He made the remarks as Wong also said Canberra was “deeply concerned” by the signs of Tehran’s plan for a retaliatory military strike, calling on Iran to show restraint.

Additionally, Iran was urged to “use its influence in the region to promote stability” by the top Australian diplomat.

In a post on X on Thursday, Amir Abdollahian discussed his talks with his Australian, British, and German colleagues, emphasizing the importance of “punishing the aggressor.”

“When the Zionist regime tramples on the international law and Vienna Conventions and violates the immunity of diplomatic agents and premises, and the UNSC is incapable of issuing a statement in condemnation of the terrorist attack on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, legitimate defense with the objective of punishing the aggressor becomes a necessity,” he wrote.

“Iran is not seeking escalation of hostility; but the return of sustainable security to the sensitive West Asia region is tied to controlling warmongering and deranged leaders of the Zionist regime and the viable cessation of this regime’s war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank,” the Iranian foreign minister pointed out.