Iran urges UN Security Council to denounce Israel for strikes

Iran on Sunday called for an urgent United Nations Security Council meeting to condemn Israel's air strikes on the Islamic republic a day earlier.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sent a letter to the UN chief and the head of the Council "demanding an urgent meeting of the Security Council to take a decisive position in condemning this aggression", a ministry statement said.

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.

In his letter, Araghchi said "most of the projectiles fired were intercepted by Iran's defence systems" but the attack led to damage at "the target points", as well as the death of four soldiers.

He said the Israeli attack was a "clear violation of the sovereignty" of Iran which "reserves the inherent right... to respond to this criminal aggression."

The Israeli military said it hit Iranian missile factories, missile installations and other systems in several regions, and warned Tehran against responding.

Iran has downplayed the attack, saying it caused "limited damage" to a few radar systems, while media outlets dismissed the assault as "weak", signalling what analysts say is the Islamic republic's reluctance to escalate further.