Iran's United Nations Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani address the UN General Assembly Feb 23, 2023 at UN headquarters. (PHOTO / AP)

TEHRAN - The Iranian envoy to the United Nations said his country reserved the "legitimate and inherent" right to respond to any threat or action by Israel against its security and national interests, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported Friday.

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Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's permanent representative to the UN, made the remarks Thursday in a letter to the president of the UN Security Council for March, Yamazaki Kazuyuki, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in response to the anti-Tehran claims and accusations by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz in an earlier letter to the world body.

Iravani said the letter was another "desperate bid" by Israel to divert the international community's attention away from its "flagrant crimes" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip

In his letter, Katz claimed that Iran had increased arms deliveries to the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which is backing Hamas against Israel.

Iravani warned against any "adventurism or destructive action" by Israel, rejecting Katz's claims and accusations as "completely baseless".

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He stressed that the Israeli foreign minister, in his letter, had "lied, provided disinformation, and made baseless claims against Iran," which were decisively rejected by Tehran.

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Iravani said the letter was another "desperate bid" by Israel to divert the international community's attention away from its "flagrant crimes" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

He added that Iran underlined the inherent rights of Syria and Lebanon under international law to take the necessary measures in the face of any threat, attack, or aggressive act by Israel against their sovereignty and territorial integrity.