The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Israel vow on Iranian response
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.
Allies have urged Israel to show restraint and hold back on any response that could spiral.
The calls were repeated yesterday during visits by Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron and his German counterpart.
The diplomatic pressures came as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned that even the “tiniest” invasion would bring a “massive and harsh” response.
Speaking to a meeting of his cabinet, Mr Netanyahu said Israel would make the call on its own on how to respond despite “all sorts of suggestions and advice” coming from allies, some of whom – including the UK, US and France – helped 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,” Mr Netanyahu said.
Despite the tough rhetoric, Israel appears unlikely to attack Iran directly without at least the support of the US, its top ally.
But it could resort to more covert methods such as targeting senior Iranian commanders or Iran-backed groups in other countries, or with a cyber attack.
Lord Cameron and German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock each appealed for calm.
Lord Cameron said “it’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act” against Iran, but he hoped they would do so “in a way that is smart as well as tough and also does as little as possible to escalate this conflict”.
Ms Baerbock said Germany stood “in full solidarity with Israel” but called for restraint.
“Everyone must now act prudently and responsibly. I’m not talking about giving in. I’m talking about prudent restraint,” she said.
Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones in response to an apparent Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals.
A seven-year-old girl was wounded in the weekend attack.
Meanwhile, violence surged 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, the army said.