Iran has dismissed suggestions that it had missed a diplomatic opportunity by refusing to attend a summit on Gaza at which US President Donald Trump took centre stage, AFP reports.

The reformist Shargh newspaper said skipping the summit showed “passivity, a lack of initiative and a loss of opportunity in foreign policy”.

Ham Mihan newspaper quoted former diplomat Fereidoun Majlesi as saying that Iran “should have participated” and taken part in the talks as “the question of Palestine and the future of Gaza are linked to Iran”.

Iran said that it could not “engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian People and continue to threaten and sanction us”, in reference to the United States.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei defended Iran’s stance, saying taking part in gatherings as such “without precise calculations could harm the country’s position.”

“We suffered an illegal and criminal attack in June from the United States; the Zionist regime also played a role in this action, with the green light and cooperation of the United States,” the Tasnim news agency quoted Baqaei as saying.

“It is natural that we cannot participate in a meeting chaired by a party that boasts of such a criminal act.”