‘If Israeli attacks stop, `our responses will also stop’

Iran’s top diplomat said on Sunday that if Israeli attacks on his country stop, "our responses will also stop".

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the comment before diplomats in Tehran, his first public appearance since the Israeli strikes began on Friday, reports newarab.

"If the aggression stops, our responses will also stop," Araghchi said.

There was no immediate reaction from Israel, which had been continuing strikes Sunday across Iran.

Araghchi’s appearance came on a day he was initially scheduled to be negotiating with the United States in Oman over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme. But the negotiations fell apart amid the Israeli attacks.

Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day on Sunday and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear programme, which could provide an off-ramp, were called off.

The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites on Friday killed several top generals and nuclear scientists, and neither side showed any sign of backing down. Israel reportedly targeted a gas installation, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets.

US President Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel's actions while warning Iran that it can only avoid further destruction by agreeing to a new nuclear deal.

New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early on Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll put out the day before by Iran's UN ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded._Agencies.