Iranian ambassador calls for condemnation of Israel

Iran's ambassador to Portugal, Majid Tafreshi, called on the international community to condemn Israel's attacks and warned against the “normalization of abuse of power”.

Majid Tafreshi told Lusa that Israel attacked “provinces of Iran without any authorization, without any approach to international law, just propaganda and killed around 100 civilians, maybe more”.

The ambassador stressed that Article 51 of the UN “allows everyone to be obliged to defend themselves and there is no other way to do so other than through the Security Council, the European Union and other stakeholders”, pointing out that “when the international community fails, the only option for the victim country, in this case Iran, is self-defense”.

Israel and Iran have been at war since early Friday morning when Tel Aviv bombed Iranian military and nuclear facilities, killing at least 78 people, including military leaders and scientists, and injuring hundreds, according to Iranian diplomacy.

For Majid Tafreshi, the EU, as with other issues such as Ukraine, when it witnesses any attack, “should have the same position”: “to accuse and condemn this brutality because, based on international law, if the abuse of power becomes a norm, then anyone can attack anyone”.

If the abuse of power is normalized, “it will be a very costly issue for international peace and security,” he reiterated.

The ambassador therefore called on the international community to condemn Israel's actions and that “everyone must be held responsible for what they did”.

Regarding Portuguese citizens in Iran, the ambassador assured that “there is no problem” and Iran is a safe country. To date, the Iranian authorities have not received “any negative reports, the embassy is active, it is working and is issuing visas”.

“The Iranian government has done its best to ensure the security of all embassies and all other foreign residents in Iran, including Portugal,” he stressed.

The ambassador also argued that Israel is making “false interpretations” to “divert the attention of the international community from the catastrophe in Gaza and other issues”.

The Israeli strikes, carried out by 200 planes against a hundred targets, mainly hit Tehran (north) and the Natanz uranium enrichment plant (center).

Iran retaliated by launching hundreds of missiles into Israeli territory, with explosions recorded over the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which killed at least three people and left dozens injured.