TEHRAN, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday vowed that his country will retaliate "strongly" against any attack on its infrastructure and economic centers.
He made the remarks in a post on social media platform X, one day after Israel targeted Iran's industrial plants and nuclear facilities.
"We have said many times that Iran doesn't carry out preemptive attacks, but we will retaliate strongly if our infrastructure or economic centers are targeted," Pezeshkian said.
Addressing the countries in the West Asia region, he added, "If you want development and security, don't let our enemies carry out the war from your lands."
Israel on Friday evening attacked several Iranian industrial and atomic facilities, including two steel plants, one located in Isfahan province and the other in Khuzestan, a heavy water research reactor facility in Markazi province, and a yellowcake production plant in Yazd province.
The strikes came as U.S. President Donald Trump set a 10-day deadline, ending on April 6, for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to target Iran's power plants if it does not comply.
Also on Saturday, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi expressed his country's deep distrust of the United States in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.
In a statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Araghchi praised efforts by Türkiye and other regional countries to end the ongoing U.S. and Israeli "imposed" war against Iran, saying the U.S. and Israeli "aggressions and crimes" are the root cause of the current tensions and insecurity in the West Asia region.
The core issue lies in the U.S. "contradictory behaviors and unreasonable demands," he said, noting such "contradictory" behaviors and remarks are very suspicious and have increased pessimism about Washington's deception.
Fidan, for his part, highlighted his country's approach to ending the war, expressing readiness to play a constructive role in resolving the ongoing crisis.
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, while tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz. ■
