Iran dismisses European calls for restraint amid Mideast tensions

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Members of the Iranian Army take part in a military exercise dubbed "Fatehan of Kheibar", in the northwestern parts of Iran, in this picture obtained on October 1, 2021. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

DUBAI (Reuters) -Calls from France, Germany and Britain that Iran should exercise restraint with regards to Israel "lack political logic and contradict principles of international law," Iran's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The three European countries issued a statement on Monday calling on Iran and its allies to refrain from attacks against Israel following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tehran last month.

Tehran and its allies, Hamas and the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, have accused Israel of carrying out the assassination. The Israeli government has made no claim of responsibility.

"Without any objection to the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel), the E3 statement impudently requires Iran not to respond to a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.

Kanaani said Tehran was determined to deter Israel and called on Paris, Berlin and London to "once and for all stand up against the war in Gaza and the warmongering of Israel".

"The inaction of the United Nations Security Council and the extensive political and military support of Western governments to the Zionist regime (Israel) are the main factors behind the regional expansion of the Gaza crisis," he said.

(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; editing by Michael Georgy, Andrew Heavens and Bernadette Baum)