TEHRAN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Wednesday exchanged views on the developments in the Middle East in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.
In a phone call, the two sides discussed the attacks' regional and international consequences and impacts, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Araghchi elaborated on the "crimes" committed by the United States and Israel, especially their attacks on Iranian hospitals, schools, infrastructure, and residential buildings.
He emphasized that Iran is determined to defend its territorial integrity and national sovereignty with all its might.
Araghchi also strongly criticized the "double-standard and deceitful" approach of some European countries and senior EU officials towards the U.S. and Israeli military "aggression" against Iran, stressing that any support or appeasement towards the "flagrant law-breaking" of the United States and Israel would be tantamount to complicity in the "crimes."
He stressed the disruption in shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is the direct result of the U.S.-Israeli war imposed on Iran, and warned of the consequences of the "U.S. conspiracy to drag other countries into its criminal war against Iran."
He said that if the EU and European countries are concerned about peace and security in the region, they should seek to exert pressure on the "aggressors and stop their military aggression against the Iranian nation, instead of adopting irresponsible positions."
Kallas, for her part, expressed grave concern about the war's security, humanitarian, and economic consequences, highlighting the EU's position regarding the need to immediately end the conflict.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called on allies to deploy warships to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil flows. Most allies have rejected the request. ■
