Iran rejects Western calls to refrain from attack on Israel

Iran has dismissed calls from the UK and other Western countries to refrain from retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month.

Amid a flurry of international diplomacy to de-escalate tensions, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to "stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack” in a rare telephone conversation on Monday.

But Mr Pezeshkian said retaliation was a “way to stop crime” and Iran’s “legal right”, according to Iranian state media.

Israel, which did not say it was involved in Haniyeh’s assassination, has meanwhile put its military on its highest alert level.