‘We will make call on Iran retaliation’
NETANYAHU’S STANCE DESPITE ALLIES’ PRESSURE
Mr Martin said he has asked his officials to look at legislative options to strengthen the law and penalties for anyone who is found to have engaged in activity for regimes that are subject to sanctions.
Asked if he had been informed about the army rangers’ involvement in Libya prior to the Irish Times report, Mr Martin said: “There are various ways that our Defence Forces become aware of this and how they thwart and disrupt this type of activity, some of which I would be privy to but not in a position to disclose.
“The gardai are now investigating this and it is important that we have a thorough investigation into it and also that we review our own processes.”
Mr Martin, who is Minister for Defence, made the comments to reporters at the commissioning ceremony of the 99th cadet class at the Defence Forces Training Centre in The Curragh, Co Kildare.
ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country will be the one to decide whether and how to respond to Iran’s major air assault at the weekend, brushing off calls for restraint from close allies.
Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented rocket and drone attack without saying when or how, leaving the region bracing for further escalation after months of unrest linked to the war in Gaza.
Spiral
Israel’s allies have been urging Israel since the attack to hold back on any response that could spiral.
These calls were repeated yesterday during visits by the British and German foreign ministers.
The diplomatic pressure came as Iran’s president warned that even the “tiniest” invasion of its territory would bring a “massive and harsh” response.
Violence, meanwhile, surged on yesterday between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which fired a volley of rockets on northern Israel.
The attack wounded at least 14 Israeli soldiers, six seriously, the army said.
Speaking to a meeting of his cabinet yesterday, Mr Netanyahu said he met with both foreign ministers and thanked them for their countries’ support.
But he said Israel would make the call on its own on how to respond despite “all sorts of suggestions and advice” coming from Israel’s allies, some of whom – including the US, UK and France – helped Israel repel Iran’s drone and missile assault.
“I want to be clear: we will make our decisions ourselves. The state of Israel will do whatever is necessary to defend itself,” he insisted. Despite the tough rhetoric, Israel appears unlikely to attack Iran directly without at least the support of its top ally, the US.
But it could resort to more covert methods such as targeting senior Iranian commanders or Iranbacked groups in other countries, or launching a cyber attack.
It is unclear how Iran might respond given the heightened tensions. Any miscalculation by either side risks setting off a regional war.
Sanctions
US President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday announced new sanctions on Iran and has worked to coordinate a global rebuke of the attack while urging de-escalation. US officials said earlier this week that Mr Biden told Mr Netanyahu that Washington would not participate in any offensive action against Iran.