Iranian president says Israel must cease "crimes" or face reaction

DUBAI: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that Israel would face a harsh reaction if it did not stop what he called "its crimes".

He was speaking a day after Iran fired waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, and Israel stepped up its war with Tehran's proxy Hezbollah by sending troops over the border into Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would strike back at Iran following the missile attack.

"If the Zionist regime (Israel) does not stop its crimes, it will face harsher reactions," Iran's Pezeshkian said as he left for a scheduled trip to Qatar, state media reported.

Pezeshkian told state television that the first goal in Doha was to discuss bilateral ties and sign agreements with the Qatari government. He will also attend a summit of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue.

"The second goal is to discuss how Asian countries can prevent Israeli crimes in the region...and prevent enemies from causing uproar in the Middle East," Pezeshkian said.