Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said the Islamic Republic is committed to peace and security in the region but reserves the right to respond to the Israeli assassination of Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil.

According to The Iran Project, the president made the remarks as he took a phone call from French President Emmanuel Macron, who expressed concerns about an increase in regional tensions following the killing of the Hamas political leader and urged Iran to exercise restraint.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the avoidance of war and the effort to establish global peace and security as its fundamental principles. However, within the framework of treaties and international laws, it will never remain silent in the face of violations against its interests and security,” he told Macron.

Pezeshkian said the assassination of Haniyeh—who was in Iran as an official guest—was an attempt by the Zionist regime of Israel to further fan the flames of conflict in the region.

He criticized the United States and its Western allies for supporting Israel’s crimes, genocide and assassinations instead of condemning them.

Pezeshkian said Iran had consistently played a crucial role in promoting “peace, stability, and security” in the region and the world, but underscored the Islamic Republic’s right to give a proper response to the act of aggression by Israel.

“The United States and Western countries support a regime that adheres to none of the international laws and regulations, and has not refrained from any criminal actions in the region, with a contradictory and dual approach,” he said.

Instead, the president added, “they invite the countries that have been targeted by such actions to refrain from responding and to practice restraint.”

He warned that as long as the Zionist regime, backed politically, financially, and militarily by the West, continues its acts of genocide and terror in Gaza and elsewhere, the region and the world will not see stability, security, or peace.