"Deeply Concerned By Evolving Escalation In West Asia": India

The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday expressed its concern on the recent developments in West Asia after precision strike of Israel on Iran's military sites.

In a statement, the MEA reiterated its call to return to dialogue and diplomacy.

"We are deeply concerned by the evolving escalation in West Asia and its ramifications for peace and stability in the region and beyond. We reiterate our call to all concerned to exercise restraint and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy," the statement said.

"The ongoing hostilities are to nobody's benefit, even as innocent hostages and civilian populations continue to suffer. Our Missions in the region are in contact with the Indian community," the statement added.

On Saturday morning, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that its military had conducted "precise strikes" on Iranian military targets, around a month after Tehran launched around 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel.

Israel's strike came weeks after Iran launched a barrage of missiles toward Tel Aviv earlier this month. The Iranian strikes followed a nearly yearlong conflict between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, including the deaths of senior leadership, and fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Both sides traded cross-border strikes, including Hezbollah in support of its fellow proxy Hamas and Israel to clear the way for displaced settlers to return to the border area.

Israel has been standing against "the terror attacks from Iran and its proxies" and has "precisely targeted military bases" in the country, Israel Consul General Kobbi Shoshani said on Saturday and asserted that Israel can reach any place in the Middle East "in a very massive way".

In an interview with ANI, Kobbi Shoshani spoke about the conflict in the Middle East and said they have some conditions which include Hamas not having any military capability and there should be safety zone in Lebanon where Hezbollah will leave the area and there will be Lebanon Army.

"That bothers us very much... Some friends of Israel are negotiating with Hamas to find a solution. We are also looking forward to a solution. We have some conditions and one of them is that Hamas will not have any military capability... Secondly, in Lebanon, we want to create a safety zone where Hezbollah will leave the area and the army of Lebanon will be there," he said.

Iran media on Saturday said that the country's air defence systems have been activated in central Tehran in response to the escalating attacks by Israel.

State news agency IRNA said that Iran has successfully shot down "adversial targets" in the airspace around Tehran province.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)