Iran has expressed “serious doubts” over Israel’s commitment to the ceasefire between the two countries.
Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Abdolrahim Mousavi, said Tehran is not convinced Israel will honour a ceasefire that ended their 12-day war earlier this month.
“We did not start the war, but we have responded to the aggressor with all our power, and as we have serious doubts over the enemy’s compliance with its commitments including the ceasefire, we are ready to respond with force” if attacked again, Mr Mousavi was quoted as saying by state TV.
His comments come six days into the ceasefire which Donald Trump hastily announced on Tuesday.
Iran ‘has serious doubts’ over Israel’s commitment to ceasefire
Surging Iranian nationalism is an unintended consequence of Israel’s attacks
The origins of Israel’s conflicts with Iran, Hamas and Hizbullah
Trump’s F-bomb: The US didn’t faint when the president swore on live TV. How unexpectedly unprissy of it
Iran has insisted that it will not give up its nuclear programme. Its parliament has agreed to fast-track a proposal that would effectively stop the country’s co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has monitored the programme for years.
Iran has demanded that the UN recognise Israel and the US as being to blame for their recent 12-day war, in a letter to the secretary general published on Sunday.
“We officially request hereby that the security council recognise the Israeli regime and the United States as the initiators of the act of aggression and acknowledge their subsequent responsibility, including the payment of compensation and reparations,” Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a letter to UN secretary general António Guterres.
There has not been an official response to this from Israel or the US yet.
Israel relentlessly attacked Iran beginning on June 13th, targeting its nuclear sites, defence systems, high-ranking military officials and atomic scientists. The attacks killed at least 627 people, including many civilians, according to Iran’s health ministry.
At least 71 people were killed in Israel’s attack on Monday on Tehran’s Evin prison, a notorious facility where many political activists have been held, Iran’s judiciary said.
The US struck three nuclear facilities in Iran – Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan – with bombs over the weekend, prompting Iran to launch missiles at a US military base in Qatar in response. There were no reported casualties.
Retaliatory missile attacks by Iran on Israel killed 28 people during the 12-day war, according to Israeli authorities. – Agencies
