Nasser Kanaani, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, on Monday claimed that his government is not looking to spark a regional war, but needs to "punish" Israel, Reuters reported.
According to Kanaani, "Iran seeks to establish stability in the region, but this will only come with punishing the aggressor and creating deterrence against the adventurism of the Zionist regime."
He also stressed that Iran's retaliation for the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who is presumed to have been assassinated by Israel, is "inevitable."
At the same time, Kanaani urged the US to end its support for Israel, and accused the international community of failing in its duty to preserve stability in the Middle East. For this reason, they must support the "punishment of the aggressor," he said.
Also on Monday, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' Commander Hossein Salami promised that Israel will "receive punishment in due time."
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts from the G7 countries that an attack by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel could start as early as Monday.
He also told his counterparts the US is making efforts to break the escalatory cycle by trying to limit the attacks by Iran and Hezbollah as much as possible and then restrain the Israeli response.
Blinken then asked the other foreign ministers to apply diplomatic pressure on Iran, Hezbollah, and Israel to maintain maximum restraint.