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Iran prepared for any scenario in Middle East conflict — foreign minister

According to Abbas Araghchi, Israel is seeking to expand the geography of the conflict in the region and is trying to draw Tehran into an open confrontation

DOHA, October 10. /TASS/. Iran’s authorities are ready for any scenario amid the uncertain future of the conflict in the Middle East and Israel’s impending response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated.

"We are ready for any scenario, at the same time we do not seek war or escalation," Araghchi noted in an interview with Al Jazeera TV channel. "The Israelis can test Iran’s resolve," he added.

According to the Iranian foreign minister, Israel is seeking to expand the geography of the conflict in the region and is trying to draw Tehran into an open confrontation. "We will first see what [Israeli] attack will be and depending on that we will determine the nature of our response," Araghchi pointed out.

On Wednesday Reuters reported, citing a senior Iranian official, that Tehran had warned the Persian Gulf countries against allowing their airspace or military bases to be used by Israel if it decided to retaliate to Iran’s recent missile strike. According to the sources, this warning came as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Qatar on October 3.

On the evening of October 1, Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel as a response for the killings of key leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Tehran claims that 90% of the missiles hit their intended targets, while Israel says that Iran only launched 180 missiles and most of them were intercepted. The Israeli General Staff vowed to "choose the right moment" to surprise Iran with a counter-attack, while Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the attacks on Israel would only be expanded.