LONDON: Iran does not want "new tensions" in the Middle East, President Hassan Rouhani said Thursday in a telephone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Iran has always sought to reduce tensions in the region, trying to strengthen security and stability," Rouhani said, according to a statement on the website of Iran"s presidency. Rouhani did not mention Israel"s strikes Thursday against what the Jewish state said were Iranian targets in Syria, or those against the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.