Iran summons Australian envoy over stance on its Israel attack, Tasnim says

FILE PHOTO: An anti-Israel billboard is seen next to the Iranian flag during a celebration following the IRGC attack on Israel, in Tehran

DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran's foreign ministry has summoned the Australian ambassador in Tehran over what it called his country's biased stance regarding Iran's attack on Israel, Iranian news agency Tasnim said on Sunday.

Tehran's missile attack on Tuesday came in retaliation for the killing of several leaders of Iran-aligned armed groups. Israel has vowed to respond.

The Australian envoy, Ian McConville, was summoned on grounds of bias regarding Iran's response to what Tehran called "the Zionist regime", in a reference to Israel.

However, Australia "makes no apology for the views it has expressed about Iran's actions or the actions of its ambassador to Australia", a spokesperson for its department of foreign affairs and trade said.

The country had "condemned Iran's reckless missile strikes on Israel (which were) a dangerous escalation" and "continues to call on all parties to exercise restraint and de-escalate", the spokesperson added in a statement in Canberra.

(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly; additional reporting by Byron Kaye in Sydney; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Clarence Fernandez)