'One-Sided Rhetoric': Iran Slams G7 For Siding With Israel In De-Escalation Call

Last Updated:June 17, 2025, 18:18 IST

At the G7 summit in Canada, leaders - including US President Donald Trump - had called for "de-escalation" of the conflict while saying Israel had the right to defend itself.

Iran criticised the G7 for supporting Israel. (Reuters)

Iran accused the G7 group of siding with Israel in its call for “de-escalation" in their intensifying conflict, which has now entered its fifth day. Tehran said it was defending itself against “cruel aggression" and hundreds of people had been killed in the Israeli offensive.

“The G7 must give up its one-sided rhetoric and tackle the real source of the escalation — Israel’s aggression," said Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. “Israel has launched an unprovoked war of aggression against Iran… in violation of… the UN Charter."

At the G7 summit in Canada on Monday, leaders, including US President Donald Trump, had called for “de-escalation" of the conflict while stressing Israel had the right to defend itself. The G7 leaders said Iran was the main source of instability in the region", adding that it could never have a nuclear weapon".

The air war between Iran and Israel – which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran with air strikes – has raised alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel’s military assault on Gaza in October 2023.

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“Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror. We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East," said the G7 statement.

Israel attacked Iran on Friday in what it called a preemptive strike to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, killing at least 224 people so far. Iran responded by launching hundreds of missiles and drones into Israel, killing 24 people.

Iran has denied seeking nuclear weapons and has said it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said meanwhile that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could face the same fate as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a U.S.-led invasion and eventually hanged after a trial.

“I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and fire missiles at Israeli citizens," Katz told top Israeli military officials. Shortly after, Iran’s state media reported an explosion was heard in Tehran.

Israel’s military said Iran’s military leadership is “on the run" and that it had killed Iran’s wartime chief of staff Ali Shadmani overnight four days into his job after replacing another top commander killed in the strikes.

(with inputs from agencies)

Tehran, Iran

News world 'One-Sided Rhetoric': Iran Slams G7 For Siding With Israel In De-Escalation Call