Iranian President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Monday that a potential Israeli attack on Lebanon “could backfire and have severe consequences for the Zionists themselves,” according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency.
His comments came during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron congratulating Pezeshkian on being elected ahead of Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony at the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the national parliament, in Tehran.
Pezeshkian replaces the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash along with the foreign minister in May.
For his part, Macron called on Iran to “avoid regional military escalation” following Hezbollah’s deadly strike on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in Israel’s Golan Heights on Saturday that killed 12 children and teens and wounded more than 40 others.
Israel’s Security Cabinet on Sunday authorized retaliatory measures, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing during a Monday visit to the soccer field where the rocket hit that “our response will come, and it will be tough.”
Israel and the United States have confirmed that Iran’s Lebanese terror proxy fired the rocket that killed the children, despite the terror group’s denials.
During his call with Pezeshkian, according to a readout from the Élysée Palace, Macron expressed his “deep concern at the rising tensions between Israel and Lebanon.”
“He [Macron] stressed that everything must be done to avoid a regional military escalation and that Iran had a role to play in this by ceasing its support for destabilizing actors and calling for restraint,” the statement said, as quoted by CNN.
France is committed to “avoid[ing] a war that would have devastating consequences for the region,” according to the Élysée.
Iranian Foreign Minister Nasser Kanaani on Sunday issued a warning to Israel in the wake of the Majdal Shams attack.
“Any ignorant action of the Zionist regime can lead to the broadening of the scope of instability, insecurity and war in the region,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Nasser Kanaani, adding that any “adventurism” in Lebanon could lead to “unforeseen consequences and reactions.”
Pezeshkian earlier this month reaffirmed Tehran’s dedication to destroying Israel, saying its proxies across the region will not allow the Jewish state’s “criminal policies” to continue.
“The Islamic Republic has always supported the resistance of the people of the region against the illegitimate Zionist regime. The support of the resistance is rooted in the fundamental policies of the Islamic Republic,” Pezeshkian wrote in a missive to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
“I am certain that the resistance movements in the region will not allow this regime to continue its warmongering and criminal policies against the oppressed people of Palestine and other nations of the region,” Iranian media quoted the supposed reformer president as saying.
Pezeshkian spoke earlier this month with Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas terrorist movement’s political bureau, the Tehran regime’s state media reported.
Haniyeh “expressed gratitude towards the Islamic Republic of Iran over its support for the Palestinian cause and called for stepped-up diplomatic efforts to end the Israeli regime’s aggression against Gaza,” according to the IRNA news agency.
For his part, “The Iranian president-elect stressed that his country will never stop backing the Palestinian people at these difficult times.”
Pezeshkian won Iran’s second-round presidential vote on July 5, receiving more than 16 million votes compared to former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili’s more than 13 million.
Pezeshkian, a former heart surgeon and longtime lawmaker born in 1954 to an Iranian Azerbaijani father and an Iranian Kurdish mother, told local media ahead of his election win that if he were elected, he would “try to have friendly relations with all countries except Israel.”
Pezeshkian stressed during the campaign that he fully adheres to the Islamic regime’s policies and has “melted into [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei’s leadership.”
Pezeshkian’s election is not expected to produce any major policy shift in Tehran’s nuclear program or support for Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen or various militias in Iraq and Syria.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad terror leaders meet with Khamenei
Khamenei hosted Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror leaders in Tehran on Tuesday, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Haniyeh and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh were in town for Pezeshkian’s inauguration, bringing delegations for the swearing-in ceremony.
Hamas said in a statement that Haniyeh also held talks with Pezeshkian in the morning, briefing him on the latest developments in Gaza and thanking him for the president-elect’s support.
Pezeshkian sat down with Nakhaleh on Monday, pledging his support for the “Palestinian resistance” and the Islamic Republic’s efforts to unite Muslim countries against Israel, according to Palestinian reports.
