President Pezeshkian says Iran not seeking war

Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that Iran seeks peace and tranquility in the region, arguing that no country can achieve progress when there is war.

He made the comments in a joint press conference with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha. The Iranian president arrived there earlier on Wednesday on his third foreign trip since taking office in late July.

“Iran is not after war”, Pezeshkian said, stressing that it is Israel which forces Iran to react.

He explained that Iran showed restraint in order for peace to be restored following Israel’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 in Tehran where he attended the inaugural of Pezeshkian a day earlier.

Instead of stopping the killing of people in Gaza and Lebanon, the Israeli regime intensified its attacks at the time when Iran showed restraint, President Pezeshkian said, stressing that the Islamic Republic was forced to respond.

He was referring to Iran’s firing of about 180 missiles at Israeli military and security positions on Tuesday (Oct. 1) in response to the assassinations of Haniyeh and Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who lost his life in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut on September 27.

If Israel wants to retaliate, Iran will give a more severe response, Pezeshkian continued, adding, “And that’s what the Islamic Republic is committed to.”

“The Zionist regime’s vicious goal is to create insecurity and expand crisis in the region, and we should prevent the crisis”, the Iranian president further said, asking the US and Europe to urge Israel to stop killing people and creating insecurity in the region.

Qatar’s Emir emphasized that his country supports de-escalating and protecting peace and security in the region.

Despite efforts by Qatar to de-escalate the situation, Israel has intensified its attacks, he said, urging the regime to stop its brutal war on Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon.

He added that Qatar will continue its mediation efforts aimed at ending the Gaza war and releasing Israeli captives held in the Palestinian territory.

Sheikh Tamim also called on the international community to help stop tensions in West Asia and urge Israel to halt its aggression against Gaza.