Iran not seeking to expand conflict to other countries: FM

TEHRAN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday his country in no way seeks to expand the conflict to other countries or the West Asia region, according to the official news agency IRNA.

He made the remarks at a meeting in the capital Tehran with foreign ambassadors and representatives in Iran while elaborating on the country's positions on and reactions to the Israeli attacks over the past two days.

Araghchi said, "We did not start this war and were pursuing diplomacy regarding our nuclear program. This aggression was imposed on us. We are defending ourselves and this defense is completely legitimate."

"If the aggression stops, our reactions will naturally cease," he noted.

Pointing to Israel's Saturday attack on Iran's energy-rich Assaluyeh region in Bushehr province on the shore of the country's southern waters, Araghchi said expanding the conflict to the Gulf region is "a big strategic mistake," with the intention of "widening the scopes of the war to beyond Iran's territory."

Araghchi said Israel's "aggression" could have never taken place without the U.S. support, adding, "We have firm proof indicating that the U.S. troops and bases in the region support the Israeli attacks."

Israel early Friday launched airstrikes on the Iranian capital Tehran and other cities across the country, hitting nuclear facilities and killing a number of Iran's top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It continued its attacks on different parts of Iran on Saturday.

In response, Iran on Friday and Saturday launched several waves of missile attacks against targets in Israel, inflicting casualties and damages.

Meanwhile, Iranian intelligence forces have arrested two "members" of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad in the northern province of Alborz, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.

The two Mossad individuals were detained in a house in Savojbolagh County, where they made bombs, explosive materials and traps and electronic devices, the report said without specifying the date of the arrests. ■