Israel’s ambassador to Australia has delivered a veiled barb to Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Western leaders pushing for diplomacy after she revealed she had phoned her Iranian counterpart urging restraint after Israel’s strikes on Iran.

Wong has backed Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran’s nuclear program, the expansion of which earned a censure from the international nuclear watchdog before Israel launched an attack on Iran on Friday. Wong has also been dealing with Israeli officials since the conflict broke out. Many other Western leaders have made similar remarks urging diplomatic talks rather than more violence.

But she has declined to explicitly endorse Israel’s military action, instead emphasising the need for diplomacy as tit-for-tat barrages continued.

“This is precisely the same message I put to [Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi]: that we urge restraint because whatever people’s views about what has occurred to date, what happens tomorrow matters to all peoples in the region,” Wong said on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday.

“I directly put to the Iranian foreign minister, ‘We are saying to you, exercise restraint, return to diplomacy and dialogue because continuing to escalate this has consequences’.”

Iran has been increasingly co-operating with a group of authoritarian nations threatening Western hegemony, including China, Russia and North Korea. The theocratic state funds proxy outfits Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen to help bring about its stated aim of damaging Israel.

Despite this, Australia maintains diplomatic ties with Iran, unlike the United States, so that Australian officials can deliver messages from allies, including warnings. The Albanese government – as it faced criticism from pro-Israel groups for not siding strongly enough with Israel over the Gaza war – was pressured by the Coalition to expel the Iranian ambassador last year over his violent statements about Israel. Many European nations also have diplomatic relations with Iran.

Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon, a critic of Australia’s policies on the Middle East, latched onto Wong’s remarks about her call with Tehran, releasing his own statement about an hour after she spoke. The statement did not mention Wong by name but made reference to her calls for diplomacy and suggested such sentiments were unrealistic.