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Iran on Tuesday rejected European attempts at mediation amid rising tensions in the Middle East, as Tehran insisted on its right to launch a retaliatory strike on Israel.<\/p>\n
“These calls are politically one-sided and illogical, as they encourage a regime [Israel] to commit even more crimes in the region,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani in Tehran.<\/p>\n
Iran does not need advice or permission from abroad to defend its security and territorial integrity, the spokesman said in a statement.<\/p>\n
European leaders such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have called on Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to prevent a further military escalation in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Pezeshkian reportedly told the trio that Israel was to blame for the recent crisis and needed to be punished.<\/p>\n
In order to seriously prevent an escalation, he argued, the West should condemn the Israeli government and stop ignoring what he called war crimes.<\/p>\n
The Middle East has been hovering on the brink of a regional conflagration since the targeted killing of two leading Israeli opponents two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
In response, Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia announced they would launch massive retaliatory strikes against Israel. The Israeli armed forces have been on high alert for days.<\/p>\n
Cyprus completes evacuation preparations<\/strong><\/p>\n As the world awaits Iran’s reaction, Cyprus has completed preparations for a potential evacuation of foreigners from Lebanon and Israel, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos told Cypriot news agency CNA on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Cyprus is the European Union member state closest to the Middle East, with the flight from Lebanon to Cyprus taking about 35 minutes.<\/p>\n Kombos said that Cyprus could accommodate a large number of people – including citizens of other EU countries and third-country nationals – provided they travel on to their home countries in due time.<\/p>\n In the Mediterranean island’s port city of Larnaca, beds have already been set up in schools and hygiene facilities prepared.<\/p>\n The foreign minister recalled that during the 2006 Lebanon War, Cyprus temporarily took in around 60,000 people.<\/p>\n Ferries could also be used to bring evacuees to the Cypriot port cities of Limassol or Larnaca. Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, people have already been brought to safety several times via these sea routes.<\/p>\n Ersin Tatar, the leader of the Turkish Cypriots in the Turkish-occupied north of the island, criticized the plans of the Greek-administered government in the south.<\/p>\n Tatar described the offer of assistance to evacuees as irresponsible, asserting that Cyprus could become a target of retaliation from groups in the Middle East.<\/p>\n He accused Israel of attempting to carry out genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and said Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides has been aiding the war interests of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n Kombos dismissed the accusations as baseless, stating that the preparations were for humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when nationalist Greek Cypriots and the military dictatorship in Athens sought to unite Cyprus with Greece, leading to a coup on the island. While the entire island has been a member of the EU since 2004, EU law is only applied in the southern part.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n