Tehran, Iran - President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that Iran did not seek war with Israel but was ready to deliver "an appropriate response" to strikes this week on Iranian military sites.

"We do not seek war, but we will defend the rights of our nation and country," Pezeshkian told a cabinet meeting, adding that Iran "will give an appropriate response to the aggression of the Zionist regime."

On Saturday, Israel conducted air strikes on military sites in Iran in response to Tehran's October 1 attack on Israel, itself retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.

Israel has warned Tehran against responding.

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Pezeshkian blamed the soaring regional tensions on Israel's "aggression" and US support for the country, which Tehran does not recognize.

"If the aggressions of the Zionist regime and its crimes continue, the tensions will spread," said the Iranian president.

Pezeshkian added that the US had "promised to end the war in return for our restraint, but they did not keep their promise," Pezeshkian added.

Iran has called for an end to Israel's brutal war on Gaza, initially sparked by the October 7 attack on Israel last year that was carried out by the Tehran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas.