Iran’s new president asserts right to reply in rare phone call with key US ally

Newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has stressed his country’s right to respond to Israel, in a rare phone call with the United Kingdom.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Pezeshkian during the 30-minute call that “war is in no one’s interest” and urged Tehran to “refrain from attacking Israel.” The call came after a joint statement from the presidents of the United States, the United Kingdom and three other European countries.

But the Iranian president insisted that a strong response to any attack “is the right of the people and a solution to stop crimes and aggression.” Sky News reported.

“The support of some Western countries for the Zionist regime is irresponsible and contrary to international norms because it endangers regional security by encouraging the Zionist regime to continue its crimes,” Pezeshkian reportedly told Starmer.

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Tensions remain high after Israel’s alleged assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Tehran at the time of his death. Iran condemned Haniyeh’s assassination and blamed Israel, although Haniyeh died in what was later deemed a local explosion that did not kill any Iranians.

But it seems that international pressure from both European and Arab countries did not affect Iran’s desire to avenge the killing of the leader of one of its most prominent proxy groups.

This week, regional sources told Fox News’ Trey Young on Monday that they were concerned that Iran and its proxies could attack Israel within the next 24 hours in retaliation for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran late last month. No attack occurred during that period, but that did little to ease the concerns.

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Hamas representatives announced Sunday that they would not participate in new negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza unless mediators presented a plan based on previous talks. The representatives insisted that the movement had shown “flexibility” throughout the negotiation process, but that Israel — through actions such as the alleged assassination of Haniyeh — had indicated that it was not serious about reaching a ceasefire agreement.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer prepares to welcome Haitham bin Tariq, Sultan of Oman, to 10 Downing Street in London on August 6, 2024. (Karl Kurt/Getty Images)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered his forces to punish Israel “severely” for killing Haniyeh, and the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ali Fadavi, told Iranian media last week that the orders would be “implemented in the best possible way.” According to Al Jazeera.

Israel this week told the United States and several of its European allies that any attack by Iran — even if no Israelis are killed — would lead to another retaliatory strike on Iranian soil, The Times of Israel reported,.

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The statement aims to preempt another round of international pressure that will try to prevent Israel from responding forcefully.

Iranians pray during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran on August 9, 2024. (Mortisa Nicobazel/NourPhoto via Getty Images)

Tensions have been slowly escalating throughout the week, with Iranian banks hit by a major cyber attack on Wednesday that nearly paralyzed the institutions, According to the Israeli news channel i24Hackers stole account holders’ information and hit several other banks.

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Iran has not yet blamed Israel, and no other country or party has claimed responsibility, but Iran has blamed the United States and Israel for the recent major cyber attack that hit the country.

Greg Norman and Bradford Betz of Fox News Digital and The Associated Press contributed to this report.