Iranians attend the funeral procession of assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 1, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran on Tuesday rejected calls from Europe to exercise restraint and not attack Israel in response to its alleged killing of a top Hamas leader in the Iranian capital city of Tehran last month.

Iran’s foreign ministry dismissed the pleas from France, Britain, and Germany, saying they “lack political logic and contradict principles of international law.”

The three European countries on Monday issued a joint statement urging Iran and its proxies in the Middle East to refrain from attacking Israel after Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, was killed in Tehran on July 31.

Iran, along with Hamas and its chief terrorist proxy Lebanon-based Hezbollah, have accused Israel of carrying out the assassination. The Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

“Without any objection to the crimes of the Zionist regime [Israel], the E3 statement impudently requires Iran not to respond to a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in reference to the European statement.

Kanaani added that Tehran was determined to deter Israel and called on Paris, London, and Berlin to “once and for all stand up against the war in Gaza and the warmongering of Israel.” He also blamed “the extensive political and military support of Western governments to the Zionist regime” as the main reasons for the “regional expansion of the Gaza crisis.”

The foreign ministry’s remarks came after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday night insisted that Iran’s Islamist regime has “the right to respond to aggressors,” according to a statement published by official news agency IRNA following a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

IRNA also reported that Pezeshkian told Britain’s prime minister that Iran has a right to retaliate against Israel for the killing of Haniyeh and that such retaliation would deter future aggression.

Meanwhile, Israeli Army Radio reported that Israel has conveyed messages to the US and European countries that a direct attack by Iran will be met with an Israeli strike on Iranian territory.

On Monday, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby warned that Israel and its allies “have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks” as early as “this week.”

The Pentagon said on Sunday that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of a guided missile submarine to the Middle East in what US officials described as a message to Iran.

“We’re trying to send a message, which is we’re looking to de-escalate the situation, that we’re looking to have capabilities in the region to protect our forces while also support the defense of Israel,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Monday.

The US ambassador to Turkey confirmed that Washington has been asking allies, including Ankara, to convince Iran to de-escalate the situation.

Tensions in the Middle East have intensified after Iranian officials threatened retaliation for the assassination of Haniyeh.

Hezbollah has also said it will target Israel in a major way after the Jewish state killed the terrorist group’s top military commander, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut. The strike occurred several hours before Haniyeh’s assassination.

Hezbollah has been firing drones, rockets, and missiles at Israel almost daily since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October.

According to reports, the expected Iranian and Hezbollah response will likely be larger than Iran’s unprecedented direct attack on Israeli soil in April. In that attack, Iran fired some 300 missiles and drones at Israel, nearly all of which were downed by the Jewish state and its allies.

Reuters, citing three anonymous “senior Iranian officials,” reported on Tuesday that only a ceasefire deal in Hamas-ruled Gaza, where Israel has been waging a military campaign for the past 10 months against Palestinian terrorists, would hold Iran back from direct retaliation against Israel.

Hamas on Sunday said that it will not attend a final round of negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement set for this Thursday. Israel accepted the invitation from the US, Egypt, and Qatar to attend the meeting.

Reuters contributed to this report.