"India Must Convince Israel": Iran's Ambassador To NDTV On West Asia Crisis

As the conflict in West Asia is poised to set off a series of dangerous escalations risking full-scale war between Iran and Israel, Iran's Ambassador to India Iraj Elahi today sought India's intevention to help bring stability to the region.

"India must take this oportunity to convince Israel to stop its aggression in the reigon and help bring peace and stability," the Ambassador said, speaking to NDTV.

India, which has friendly ties with both Iran and Israel, has been urging all parties involved in the West Asia crisis to de-escalate tensions and resolve issues through diplomacy and dialogue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had even spoken to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu after Tel Aviv opened a new front to the sconflict with its northern neighbour Lebanon, where it is targeting Hezbollah.

In an exclusive interview to NDTV, the Iranian Ambassador also said that "If Israel stops, we will stop," adding that "Iran does not want war. We want to have peace in the region, but if our national security is hit, then it leaves us with no other option than to retaliate, and that is precisely what we did."

He went on to explain that Iran's ballistic missile attack was "retaliatory move" and was done in response to the "assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil. He was our state guest and was assassinated by Israel in our country. That is a national security issue, and according to our Constitution, we have to deal with such an issue with a retaliatory response."

The Ambassador also clarified that the missile attack was not for the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. "The issue is getting mixed up here. Our retaliation to Israel was only for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, not for the Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah can take care of itself," he said.