'Toys our children play with': Iranian foreign minister reacts on Israeli strikes

After the purported Israeli counterattackagainst Iran's strikes, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian played it down saying it was not a strike but resembled "toys our children play with, not drones."

This reaction came during the minister's interview with NBC News after Israel on early Friday struck a military airfield near the Iranian city of Isfahan.

With Israel's first attack on Iran in the wake of the April 1 strikes on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus and subsequent counterstrikes by Iran on Israel, there had been heightened concerns. However, Iranian media outlets said that nuclear facilities were not hit, and reports also suggested that there were no casualties as well.

Also Read |West Asia crisis: US deploys ‘CHAMP’ missile that can FRY Iranian nuclear equipment

There has been a lack of progress in the hostage negotiations that is casting a shadow on any potential resolution to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the tensions between Israel and Iran.

While blaming Netanyahu for no headway in the talks, the Iranian FM said, "It has not been able to destroy Hamas or to arrest the leaders inside Gaza, has not been able to disarm Hamas, has not been able to destroy the weapons and equipment."

Also Read |Benny Gantz leads in preference for Israeli PM, Netanyahu not far behind: Survey

Amirabdollahian added, "Therefore it had to resort to killing women and children... and now at the negotiating table, they are trying to get what they could not get on the ground."

Media outlets quoting experts and analysts have also pointed out that the muted response to the said Israeli strike on an Iranian city could mean that both parties are seeking to de-escalate tensions.

Watch |Blast rocks military base used by Iraqi security force

This development is noteworthy because Israeli officials had previously indicated a near readiness to initiate broad strikes on Iran. However, the war cabinet later deferred the decision after assessing that the damage incurred was limited.

Hostage situation

With about 100 hostages still in Hamas' captivity, Iranian FM said that the militant group is "ready to go ahead with the release of the prisoners within the format of a humanitarian political package encompassing everything."

"I think now is a good time," he said adding, "There is a good chance for this."

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.