Iran vows to 'respond firmly' to Israeli strikes

Tehran says will use all available means for its response

TEHRAN:

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that Tehran would "respond firmly and effectively" to deadly Israeli strikes on military sites over the weekend.

"We are using all available means to respond firmly and effectively to the aggression of the Zionist regime," Baghaei told a regular news conference.

"The nature of our response will depend on the nature of the attack."

On Saturday, Israel conducted air strikes on military sites in Iran in response to Tehran's October 1 attack on Israel, itself retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.

At least four soldiers were killed in the strikes, according to the military, and Iranian media reported Monday that a civilian was also killed in the attack.

"The martyr Allahverdi Rahimpour, a civilian who was killed near Tehran during the recent attack by the Zionist regime, has been buried," the local Fars news agency reported. Tasnim news agency also reported the death, saying Rahimpour worked as "a (security) guard in a company" and lived in the city of Nassimshahr southwest of Tehran.

Authorities had not previously reported civilian deaths in the strikes.

Baghaei said a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon has remained the "goal" for Iran.

He further urged the United Nations Security Council, which is set to hold a meeting Monday on the Israeli strikes, to take a "decisive and firm" stance with regards to the attack.

Iran had called for the meeting on Sunday.

During the conference, Baghaei decried Israel's "abuse" of Iraq's airspace to launch the attack on Iran.

"The Zionist regime does not respect any limits in its law-breaking approach... it has repeatedly violated the airspace of many countries," he said.