Iran says it is “fully prepared to defend its sovereignty” if its arch-foe Israel attacks as it has threatened to do in response to a barrage of about 200 missiles. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said this week that his country’s response would be “deadly, precise and surprising”. In an address to the UN Security Council on Thursday, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said the country “stands fully prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any aggression targeting its vital interests and security”. Iran, he said, was not seeking “war or escalation” but would exercise its “inherent right to self-defence fully in line with international law and will notify the Security Council of its legitimate response”.

Meanwhile, the US has raised “real concern” with its ally Israel on the lack of humanitarian aid entering the north of the war-battered Gaza Strip, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Blinken also promised support for efforts by the Lebanese state to assert itself as Israel strikes the country, targeting the Hezbollah group. “It’s clear that the people of Lebanon have an interest — a strong interest — in the state asserting itself and taking responsibility for the country and its future,” he said.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan