Iran says it does not want regional escalation but must ‘punish’ Israel

Iran is not looking to escalate regional tensions but believes it needs to punish Israel to prevent further instability, the foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.

“Iran seeks to establish stability in the region, but this will only come with punishing the aggressor and creating deterrence against the adventurism of the Zionist regime (Israel),” Nasser Kanaani said, adding that action from Tehran was inevitable.