Pezeshkian says Israeli occupation warmongering, seeking broader war
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told a roundtable of journalists in New York that "Israel" is attempting to provoke a larger war.
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during his press conference in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP)
Iran's new president accused "Israel" of wanting regional conflict on Monday as he urged the West to hold negotiations on sensitive issues.
President Masoud Pezeshkian was visiting the United Nations as "Israel" increased its strikes in Lebanon.
Pezeshkian told a roundtable of journalists in New York that "Israel" is attempting to provoke a larger war, explaining that "We know more than anyone else that if a larger war were to erupt in the Middle East, it will not benefit anyone throughout the world. It is Israel that seeks to create this wider conflict."
Pezeshkian alluded to "Israel's" assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and expressed that the West urged Iran not to respond, stressing, "We tried to not respond. They kept telling us we are within reach of peace, perhaps in a week or so."
"But we never reached that elusive peace. Every day Israel is committing more atrocities and killing more and more people -- old, young, men, women, children, hospitals, other facilities," Pezeshkian stressed.
"We always keep hearing, well, Hezbollah fired a rocket. If Hezbollah didn't even do that minimum, who would defend them?" he stated. "We keep being labeled as the perpetrators of insecurity. But look at the situation for where it is."
Pezeshkian accused Western powers of having double standards, claiming that violence "by one side is legitimate self-defense but it's terrorism and murder by the other."
Iran's foreign ministry warned the Israeli occupation Monday of "dangerous consequences" following the new adventure".
The death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon has risen to 365, including at least 21 children and 39 women, and 1,246 were injured, according to Health Minister Firass al-Abiad said on Monday.
An estimated 5,000 people have been injured since last Tuesday.
The Minister added that "thousands of families from the targeted areas have been displaced."
The Israeli regime has intensified its airstrikes since this morning, with an estimated 1,100 airstrikes carried out so far across southern and eastern Lebanon.
Moreover, an airstrike was also reported in the capital city of Beirut Tuesday evening.
Israeli forces have also urged residents of the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon to evacuate their homes, as it declared plans to "broaden" the scope of its strikes.
Explosions near the ancient city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon lit up the night with flashes of fire, sending plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.
