Iran FM: West Asked Iran Not to Hit ‘Israel’ Hard

He further stated that “Ahead of the operation, the request of the Westerners was that if you want to respond, do not hit hard and reduce the intensity of the operation.”

He made the statement on the sidelines of the Iranian administration’s weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

“Ever since it was decided to conduct Truthful Promise Operation, intensive contacts by the Westerners and the US’s allies in Europe were established with Iran, and their first request was [for Iran] to exercise restraint and to not respond, to which we firmly stated that the response will definitely be given to the ‘Israeli’ entity,” Amir-Abdollahian told reporters.

Stressing that the Islamic Republic decided by itself as to when and how carry out the operation, Amir-Abdollahian said, “We did not allow any decisions to be made under pressure from others, but we told the Western and American side that the root [cause] is in the Gaza crisis that should be resolved and they should focus on that issue.”

The top diplomat said Iran had issued a prior notice for the United States and the regional countries where Washington has bases about the Islamic Republic’s retaliatory strikes on “Israel”.

“Two days before the operation, we announced to the American side and the countries where the US has bases that our targets are not the neighbors or American bases but the ‘Israeli’ entity,” Amir-Abdollahian said.

“In the notice, we warned that if the US takes action against Iran's interests, our response against the US bases in the region will be immediate and decisive.”

The Iranian foreign minister said the regional countries hosting the US occupation bases had been cautioned by the Islamic Republic that “our relations are based on brotherhood but if the US makes the slightest mistake, we will target American bases."

Amir-Abdollahian added, “Most of the neighboring countries told us that they will not allow any country to launch acts of aggression against Iran from their soil.”