Kazem Jalali made these remarks on Monday during a press conference in Moscow on the occasion of International Quds Day and the developments in Gaza.

He pointed out that the US, along with Britain and France, even prevented the Security Council from issuing a statement to condemn the Israeli terrorist attack against Iran's diplomatic mission in Syria last week.

"The evidence is clear that the US has turned into a hostage of Israel," he said.

The ambassador said that Washington's reaction to the Israeli aggression against the Iranian consulate in Damascus exposed it double-standard behavior.

"A diplomatic place was violated by the Zionist regime, but the Americans are not ready for a resolution to be issued in the Security Council, not even a statement," he added.

Asked about how Iran was likely to respond to the Israeli attack, Jalali cited the Iranian military leadership as saying that "the initiative for action will be in the hands of the Islamic Republic".

"Iran will determine the time, place, and manner of response," he stressed.

Emphasizing that Iran is not seeking to expand the scope of conflict in the region, Jalali said, "All efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been made with the approach that the crisis in Gaza can come to an end in a just manner."