US limits travel by staff in Israel amid Iran threat
THE United States imposed restrictions on travel by its staff within Israel as warnings grew of an attack by Iran.
“Out of an abundance of caution, US government employees and their family members are restricted from personal travel” outside the areas around greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheba “until further notice”, the US embassy said.
It follows an updated travel warning issued yesterday by the Foreign Office which took note of the raised tensions with Iran and stressed to UK citizens: “Do not enter Gaza by sea, including via a flotilla delivering humanitarian aid.”
The advice follows the killing of seven aid workers including three Britons in an Israeli air strike, and it again cautioned Britons against “all but essential travel to the rest of Israel and the OPTs [Occupied Palestinian Territories]”.
The botched strike on the aid convoy in Gaza came on April 1, the same day that suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran’s embassy in Syria, killing seven Iranian military advisers including three senior commanders. With Iran stepping up vows of vengeance, the US and its allies have this week to warned Tehran against a major escalation of regional tensions.
Lord Cameron spoke last night to Iran’s foreign minister to stress that “Iran must not draw the Middle East into a wider conflict”. The Foreign Secretary tweeted: “I am deeply concerned about the potential for miscalculation leading to further violence. Iran should instead work to de-escalate and prevent further attacks.”
But Tehran’s mission to the United Nations stressed an “imperative for Iran to punish this rogue regime”. The crisis has given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an opportunity to win renewed US backing after rising tensions with the White House over his devastating tactics in Gaza.
After visiting an air force base in southern Israel, Mr Netanyahu warned: “Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively.”