Tehran — Israel is a threat to world peace, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in a speech on Sunday at a Tehran event commemorating the 28th anniversary of the kidnapping of four Iranian diplomats in Lebanon by Lebanese forces allied at the time with Israel, Press TV reported.

Mottaki called for the creation of a committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the unsolved case of the abduction.

He also asked that Lebanon and the international community assist Iranian efforts to locate the diplomats and secure their release if they are still alive.

Mottaki's comments were a continuation of Iran's aggressive response to the latest efforts to contain its drive for nuclear power.

On Saturday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the latest US sanctions passed against the Islamic Republic “pathetic,” in his first speech since the new measures were signed into law by President Barack Obama on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The US legislation affects the gasoline, financial, insurance and shipping sectors, among others, as it seeks to impose a heavy economic cost on Iran for continuing with its nuclear program