Malaysia’s Anwar says Iran’s attack on Israel ‘legitimate’

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim addresses a joint press conference following talks with the German chancellor at the Chancellery in Berlin on March 11, 2024. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday that Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel two days ago was “legitimate”.

World powers have urged restraint after Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel late Saturday, although the Israeli military has said nearly all were intercepted.

READ: Timeline: What key recent events led to Iran’s assault on Israel

The leader of Muslim-majority Malaysia urged Israel “not to take any further retaliation that will aggravate tensions in the Middle East”.

“The launching of the drones by Iran is a legitimate act following the barbarous attack by the Israeli Zionist regime against the Iranian embassy in Damascus,” Anwar said in a statement, referring to the deadly April 1 strike on Tehran’s consulate in the Syrian capital that has been widely blamed on Israel.

The statement was issued after Anwar chaired a meeting of Malaysia’s National Security Council to discuss soaring tensions in the Middle East.

Anwar has defended Malaysia’s ties with the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas, which launched a deadly attack against Israel on October 7 that triggered the war in Gaza.

READ: Iran launches unprecedented strikes on Israel, risking wider conflict

He stressed during a visit to Germany last month that Malaysia’s links were with Hamas’s political wing and not with its military arm.

“I make no apologies about it,” he said at the time.

The Damascus strike levelled the five-storey consular annex of the Iranian embassy and killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.