ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran responded on Tuesday to calls by Western powers to stand down on its threats of retaliation against Israel and stressed that it does not seek anyone’s permission to defend its national security. “Iran is determined to defend its sovereignty and national security, help establish stability in the region and create deterrence against the real source of insecurity and terrorism in the region, and does not ask anyone’s permission to use its recognized rights,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a presser. He was responding to calls from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy for Iran to “stand down” its threats of a military attack on Israel in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the killing, but Tehran and its allies have blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s death. “The declaration by France, Germany, and Britain brazenly demands the Islamic Republic of Iran to not take deterrent measures against the Zionist entity which violates its sovereignty and territorial integrity without any protest against the international crimes committed by the entity,” Kanaani stressed. Such demands “lack political logic” and “are ambitious demands that constitute public and practical support” for Israel, he said. On Monday, the Western powers called on Iran to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. “We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should an attack take place,” read the joint statement from the four European countries and the United States. The group of five also commended efforts by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt to resume ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel. Hamas killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds of others when it launched an all-out incursion into southern Israel on October 7. Nearly 40,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, according to the latest toll from Palestinian authorities.
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