TEHRAN, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor on Saturday discussed Tehran's recent retaliatory military operation against Israel.

In a phone call, the two sides also discussed bilateral ties and the latest developments in West Asia, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Amir-Abdollahian stressed that last week, Iran decided to, in accordance with its legitimate right to self-defense, target two Israeli military and intelligence bases that had played a role in Israel's deadly attack on April 1 against the Iranian consulate in Syria.

The Iranian minister said the decision was made as the Israeli act faced no condemnation from the UN Security Council, with certain permanent members, namely the United States, Britain and France, preventing the condemnation at the council.

He added that following its military operation, Iran told the international community that it did not seek to expand the conflict, but "if Israel takes another action against Iran, Tehran will respond severely and strongly."

During the phone conversation, Amir-Abdollahian hailed the South African government's "historical initiative" last December to file a lawsuit against Israel to the International Court of Justice over its "genocide acts" in the Gaza Strip.

For her part, Pandor highlighted the necessity to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

She noted that her country plans to host Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi this year.

Iran launched a missile and drone attack against Israel last Saturday, in response to the Israeli airstrike on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus on April 1, which killed seven Iranians, including two veteran commanders. Enditem

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