Netanyahu brushes off calls for restraint, says Israel will decide how to respond
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would decide whether and how to respond to Iran’s major air assault earlier this week, brushing off calls for restraint from close allies.
Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented attack, leaving the region bracing for further escalation after months of fighting in Gaza. Israel’s allies have been urging Israel to hold back on any response to the attack that could spiral.
The diplomatic pressure came as Iran’s president warned that even the “tiniest” invasion of its territory would bring a “massive and harsh” response.
Over the weekend, Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel after an apparent Israeli strike killed two Iranian generals. Israel and Iran have waged a long shadow war, but the strike was Iran's first direct military attack on Israel. Israel says it and its partners intercepted nearly all the missiles and drones.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi warned Israel against any retaliation as he addressed an annual army parade, which was moved from its usual route and not broadcast live on state TV — possibly to avoid being targeted. In remarks carried by Iran’s official IRNA news agency, Raisi said the weekend attack was limited, and that if Iran had wanted to carry out a bigger attack, “nothing would remain from the Zionist regime.”
Regional tensions have increased since the start of the latest Israel-hamas war on Oct. 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,800 people, according to local health officials.
Condemnation
The US and 47 other countries issued a statement unequivocally condemning attacks on Israel by Iran “and its militant partners.”
The statement issued Wednesday night calls their “dangerous and destabilizing actions” an escalation “that poses a grave threat to international peace and security.”
The Iranian attack on Saturday marked the first time Tehran has launched a direct military assault on Israel. Israeli authorities said Iran lunched more than 300 drones and missiles, 99% of which were intercepted by air defenses in tandem with the U.S., Britain, France and Jordan.
The attack took place less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consulate building in Damascus.
The 48 mainly Western countries also condemned the fact that the ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones “violated the airspace of several regional states, putting at risk the lives of innocent people in those countries, and appeared to traverse airspace near the holy sites in Jerusalem.”
The countries also condemned Iran’s seizure of a Portuguese-flagged commercial ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday and called for the immediate release of the ship and its crew.