Israel is provoking wider regional war, Iran's president says during visit to US

Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has accused Israel of fanning the flames of war in the Middle East, saying he hoped Iran could avoid being dragged into actions "not worthy" of it, on his first official visit to the US.

- Patrick Wintour

The reformist, who took office in July after winning an election on a ticket of better relations with the west, told journalists at the UN in New York: "We know more than anyone else that if a larger war were to erupt in the Middle East, it will not benefit anyone throughout the world. It is Israel that seeks to create this wider conflict."

Tensions soared immediately after his inauguration as the visiting political chief of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in an operation in Tehran widely attributed to Israel.

Pezeshkian said he was repeatedly told to hold back a response to the killing because Israel was within a week or two of signing a peace agreement.

"We tried not to respond but unfortunately that elusive week never came," he said, adding he believed Iran had been lied to.

"There is no winner in warfare; everyone loses in war and conflict.

We are only deluding ourselves if we think someone will be victorious in a regional war." He added: "Every day Israel is committing more atrocities and killing more and more people - old, young, men, women, children, hospitals, other facilities."