Israeli response to Iran attack seems inevitable
Despite allies’ restraint pleas, officials say
European diplomats traveled to Israel on Wednesday to make one more plea for restraint in response to the aerial attack that Iran launched this weekend, but Britain’s foreign secretary acknowledged that an Israeli reprisal seemed inevitable.
“It is clear that the Israelis are making a decision to act,” the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, told the BBC, just before he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We hope that they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible.”
Israel’s allies, including the United States, Britain, and Germany, have joined other world leaders in repeatedly pressing Netanyahu to avoid taking any action that could increase tensions with Iran, which launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel on Saturday night, Iran’s first direct attack on Israel.
But Netanyahu, after meeting with Cameron and Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said that Israel would “do everything necessary to defend itself.”
He thanked Israel’s allies for their “support in words and support in actions” in remarks before a Cabinet meeting, according to his office.
But Netanyahu added: “They also have all kinds of suggestions and advice. I appreciate it. But I want to make it clear, we will make our own decisions.”
Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesperson, said at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday that the United States was pushing for a “unified diplomatic response” to the Iranian attack and was urging Israel to avoid “further escalation.” But he added: “These decisions are for Israel to make as a sovereign, democratic country.”
Israel’s war Cabinet has met several times since the weekend to discuss when and how to respond to Iran’s barrage of ballistic missiles and exploding drones, almost all of which were intercepted by Israel’s air defenses, supported by the United States, Britain, France, and Jordan.
Israeli officials are said to be considering a range of options, from a direct strike on Iran to a strike on an Iranian target, such as a Revolutionary Guard base, in a country other than Iran, to a cyberattack or assassinations, trying to send a clear message to Iran while not sparking a major escalation.
“Israel will respond when it sees fit,” an Israeli official said Wednesday, adding that it had “multiple ways” to do so. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
Iranian leaders have warned that the country will react forcefully to any Israeli strike. “We will respond with more deadly weapons,” the Iranian army’s commander in chief, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, said Wednesday.
Iran said it had attacked Israel in response to an April 1 airstrike on a diplomatic compound in Syria, which killed at least three senior Iranian commanders and four officers overseeing Iran’s covert operations in the Middle East.
Baerbock said it was critical to prevent “the highly dangerous situation in the Middle East from turning into a regional conflagration,” the German news outlet Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported.
“As the G7, we speak with one voice,” Baerbock said after arriving in Italy on Wednesday for a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations. “All players in the region are called upon to exercise maximum restraint.”
Cameron said that the Group of Seven, which includes the United States as well as Britain and Germany, should work together to punish Iran with sanctions. US and European officials said Tuesday that they were considering placing additional sanctions on Iran that could target its oil revenue and weapons programs.
Although Iran’s attack has shifted international focus away from the war in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military has continued to bomb some parts of the territory, and many residents of Gaza remain desperate for food.