Mid East on knife edge
Iran and Israel trade war threats as West calls for calm
Israel and Iran have traded threats after Tehran’s first-ever direct attack on its arch-foe sharply heightened regional tensions and the Gaza war ground on with no truce in sight.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Iran would not get off “scot-free” after Tehran and its allies launched a barrage of more than 300 missiles, drones and rockets at Israel on the weekend.
“We cannot stand still from this kind of aggression,” Admiral Hagari said, a day after Israel’s military chief vowed there would be “a response” to Iran’s offensive. But Iran hit back by threatening to fire weapons it has never before used in “a severe, extensive and painful response” to the “slightest action” by Israel.
Iran is reportedly building an arsenal from Russia, including anti-aircraft launchers and fighter jets, according to Iranian media outlet AlMayadeen News.
Abolfazl Amouei, a spokesman for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee, told the news station the Islamic Republic “will confront any Israeli aggression and respond to it”.
“We are ready to use weapons that we have not used before,” he said. “We have plans for all scenarios, and we call on the Zionists to act rationally.”
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned that “the slightest action against Iran’s interests will definitely be met with a severe, extensive and painful response. The blind support of some Western countries to the Zionist regime is the cause of tension in the region,” he said.
“We will respond in a massive, broad and painful manner to the slightest action targeting Iranian interests.”
Iran said its attack was an act of self-defence following a deadly Israeli strike on its consulate in Syria, and that considered the matter “concluded” unless Israel retaliated.
US President Joe Biden has stressed “the United States is committed to Israel’s security” and wants to prevent the conflict from spreading.
During a phone call with Mr Raisi, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on both sides to “prevent a new round of confrontation fraught with catastrophic consequences for the region”, the Kremlin said.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu against “significant escalation” and said now was a moment for “calm heads to prevail”.
Throughout, Israel has kept bombing targets in Gaza, the Hamas-ruled coastal territory that has been largely devastated by more than six months of war and a siege on its 2.4 million people.