Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has called upon the countries who are supposed to play a role to take “effective” measures in de-escalating Iran-Israel tensions and stop Israeli aggression in Gaza.
“We (Bangladesh) want peace, not war,” he said while replying to a question after meeting with visiting Antigua and Barbuda Foreign Minister Chet Greene at the state guesthouse Padma on Sunday.
The question came after Iran launched missiles across Israel, including Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem, on Saturday night in retaliation for an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.
The foreign minister said: “Iran got the opportunity to retaliate because Israel had attacked the Iranian embassy in Syria. Otherwise, it would not have happened. Iran has 'retaliated' – that is what Iran says.”
“We hope that all the countries that are supposed to play a role will immediately take effective measures to resolve Iran-Israel tensions and stop the indiscriminate killing of people in Gaza. We are never for war, we are for peace,” he reiterated.
Iran warned Israel and the United States on Sunday of a much larger response if there was any retaliation for its mass drone and missile attack on Israeli territory overnight, as Israel said the campaign was not over yet.
The threat of open warfare erupting between the arch Middle East foes and dragging in the United States has put the region on edge as Washington said America did not seek conflict with Iran but would not hesitate to protect its forces and Israel.
Iran launched the attack over a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Syria on April 1 that killed top Revolutionary Guards commanders and followed months of clashes between Israel and Iran's regional allies, triggered by the war in Gaza.
However, the attack from hundreds of missiles and drones, mostly launched from inside Iran, caused only modest damage in Israel as most were shot down with the help of the US, Britain and Jordan.
