Iranian official cautions European countries will be ‘legitimate targets’ if they join war

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Takht-Ravanchi said Iran considers the conflict to have been forced upon it.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Iran warned European countries not to join the United States and Israel in the war against Tehran, saying any government that participates in the campaign could face retaliation.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi issued the warning in an interview with France 24, saying Tehran had already cautioned European governments about becoming involved in the fighting.

“We have already informed the Europeans and everybody else that they should be careful not to be involved in this war of aggression against Iran,” Takht-Ravanchi told the network.

“If they help, I’m not trying to name any country, but if any country joins in the aggression against Iran, joins America and Israel in the aggression against Iran, definitely they will be also the legitimate targets for Iranian retaliation.”

Takht-Ravanchi said Iran considers the conflict to have been forced upon it and signaled that Tehran intends to continue military operations.

“This war has been imposed on us, and we will continue to defend ourselves to the best of our abilities,” he said. “We have an obligation to defend our people, and that is exactly what we are doing.”

He also said Iran had been engaged in nuclear negotiations with Washington before hostilities began.

“We are sincere. We are sincere in our endeavor to arrive at a peaceful conclusion of this issue,” Takht-Ravanchi told France 24.

Separately, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued an apology to neighboring countries that had been struck during Iranian attacks in the Gulf.

“I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” Pezeshkian said in a prerecorded televised speech Saturday, according to The Associated Press.

He said Tehran would avoid targeting neighboring states unless those countries attacked Iran.

“From now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy,” he said.

The remarks came after Iran launched multiple strikes on Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman.

Despite the statement, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defense said Saturday that air defense systems intercepted 16 ballistic missiles fired toward the country. According to the ministry, 15 of the missiles were shot down while one fell into the sea.