The Iranian foreign minister said his country's plans for retaliation for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, were still on course in Tehran.
Late on Sunday, Abbas Araghchi mentioned the matter in a phone conversation with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
The Iranian response to the Israeli terror attack in Tehran would be decided, measured, and well-calculated, Araghchi wrote on the social platform X. "We do not fear an escalation, but, unlike Israel, we do not seek it."
Tajani replied with a statement calling for restraint and inviting a constructive way of acting in a view to stopping the cycle of military action in the region, which could lead to more suffering.
Tajani requested that Tehran exercise restraint over Hezbollah so as not to see an escalation along the Lebanese-Israeli border, where Italian soldiers serve in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon contingent.
He called for restraint over the Houthis from raising tensions in the Red Sea area, where Italy plays a leading role in the European Union's Aspides mission.
The request was made after Israel and Hezbollah — the Lebanese militant group Iran has long supported — exchanged heavy fire early on Sunday but drew back from the all-out war.
Meanwhile, high-level talks in Cairo that were part of efforts to secure a cease-fire and hostage deal to temporarily halt the 10-month war by Israel against Hamas in Gaza concluded on Sunday, a US official said.
The talks ended without any final agreement, though negotiations are set to go on at lower levels in the coming days to iron out remaining differences.
These talks included meetings between the director of the CIA, William Burns, and the chief of Mossad, David Barnea. Though briefed by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, no Hamas delegation was present during the direct talks.
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