Iran president vows ‘stronger’ response if Israel retaliates

A demonstrator carries an Iranian flag during a rally in Tehran on October 2, 2024, a day after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel. Agence France-Presse

DOHA — President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted Wednesday that Iran was “not looking for war” but pledged a stronger response if Israel retaliates for its missile attack.

“If it (Israel) wants to react, we will have a stronger response, this is what the Islamic Republic is committed to,” Pezeshkian said in a joint press conference with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in Doha.

“We are not looking for war, it is Israel that forces us to react,” he said.

READ: Iran fires at least 180 missiles into Israel as regionwide conflict grows

Pezeshkian spoke a day after Iran fired about 200 missiles including hypersonic weapons towards Israel, sending frightened civilians into shelters.

Israel intercepted most of them, while medics reported two people lightly wounded by shrapnel. One of the missiles damaged a school building.

On Wednesday the Israeli military said several Iranian missiles fell inside air force bases without causing any damage.

READ: US, Israel warn of response to Iranian missile attack

“The dirty goal of the Zionist regime is to cause insecurity and spread crisis in the region,” Pezeshkian said.

“What we want from US and European countries is to tell the entity they have planted in the region (Israel) to stop the bloodshed.”

Sheikh Tamim warned that Israel was drawing the region to the “brink of the abyss” with its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The emir also condemned ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, saying Doha would press on with efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 7 attacks triggered the war.