Drones and missiles fromIran su Israel. Therefore, during the night, the revenge promised by Tehran for the attack on April 1st arrived at the Iranian consulate in Damascus: At least 16 people died there, including two commanders of the Guardians of the Revolution. Beyond 200 drones and cruise missiles, almost all of which were intercepted by defense systems, were launched on Israeli military targets by the Islamic Republic and its regional allies: the Yemeni Houthis, Iraqi Shiite militias e Hezbollah. The Lebanese "Party of God" continued to hurl Katiuscha rockets at the Golan Heights until the first light of dawn, when the invitation from the authorities to leave the shelters had already reached Israel at four in the morning local time.
The Israeli premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, had assured that he was prepared to react and had a nightly telephone conversation with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, which alerted the G7. Tel Aviv claims to have shot down 99% of the drones and missiles, a success guaranteed by anti-aircraft support from the USA, Great Britain and Jordan. That 1% would have hit an air base in the Negev desert, causing infrastructure damage defined as "very small" by Israel and "heavy" by Iran. A Bedouin girl was seriously injured by shrapnel during the attack. Throughout the country, there are around thirty residents who have resorted to medical treatment, mostly bruised while fleeing for shelter.
Iran: “Question closed but Israel does not make any more mistakes”
“The issue can be said to be closed” unless, after the bombing of the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, Israel “makes another mistake”: thus the Tehran's representation at the United Nations in New York on the launch of drones and missiles at night. The message was also spread on social networks. “Conducted on the basis ofArticle 51 of the Charter of the United Nations relating to self-defense, Iran's military action was a response to the Zionist regime's aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus” reads the text. “The matter can be considered concluded; however, if the Israeli regime were to make another mistake, Iran's response would be significantly more severe.”
Tehran's representation at the UN added: "It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, which the United States must stay away from."
And again: Iran "does not seek escalation or conflict in the region" but "if the Israeli regime were to commit military aggression again, Iran's response will certainly and decisively be stronger and more resolute." You wrote it in a letter to UN Security Council Tehran's permanent representative to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, after last night's attack "against Israeli military targets" in response to that of the Israeli Armed Forces in Damascus.
Iran attacks Israel, the role of the United States
Biden claimed to have helped neutralize "almost all" of Iran's offensive assets and will hear from them G7 allies, this year chaired by Italy, to agree on a "united diplomatic response" to Tehran's aggression, which was condemned by Western chancelleries and the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres. At 22 pm Italian time, at the request of Israel, the UN Security Council will be convened. There Russia, who had shown support for Iran after the attack on the consulate in Syria, expressed herself only through her deputy representative at the Glass Palace, who feared a "new acute crisis".
La China expressed "deep concern" and called on the parties to "calm". L'Saudi Arabia andEgypt, who put his army on alert, asked the contenders for "maximum moderation".
Netanyahu and US concerns
The Israeli media leaked Netanyahu's promise of a "significant", or even "unprecedented", reaction to the Iranian initiative. Washington immediately intervened to correct the situation. According to Israeli media, Biden, in his phone call with the prime minister of Tel Aviv, he would have asked him not to react. American newspapers then give voice to senior officials who express concern about their ally's "frantic" military conduct and fear that Israel will respond hastily and disproportionately. In the meantime, something is moving and other well-informed people report to New York Times that Israel will coordinate its response with its allies.
The Iranian representation at the United Nations, meanwhile, said it had acted on the principle of self-defense after what he deemed an attack on his territory. And if Tehran had not responded to Damascus's blow, the internal pressures in the Islamic Republic would have risen dangerously. The Israeli war cabinet will meet in the next few hours to evaluate the next moves. Biden, who in official statements reiterated his "iron" support for Israel's defense, in private, according to the nbc, he would have said he was worried: fear? That Netanyahu is trying to drag the United States into a broader and deeper conflict. The White House believes that the Israelis are not seeking a direct confrontation with Iran, in light of the resources used in the war in Gaza, but it is not certain. Washington had deemed the attack on the Iranian consulate too risky, judging it to be harmful to the negotiations on the release of the hostages held by Hamas. “I don't think they had a strategy,” he confided tonbc a senior US administration official, “Israelis don't always make the best strategic decisions.”
Meloni convenes the G7
The Italian Presidency of G7 has called a meeting for the early afternoon today video conference at the leader level, to discuss the Iranian attack on Israel. We learn this from Palazzo Chigi sources
Tajani: “Dangerous spiral, Iran must stop”
“The retaliation that started last night could set a very dangerous spiral in motion: the next few hours will be crucial.” He states this in an interview with Corriere della Sera the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who, since yesterday evening, has been in constant contact with the Prime Minister Meloni, minister Crosetto and the Undersecretary Mantovano, on Friday afternoon he had a long telephone conversation with his Iranian colleague Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
“I hope that Iran will stop but it is too early to say, we will need to understand how long the attacks will continue, what damage they will cause, how deep they will have been carried out and on which targets. It is clear that the dynamics of the region are now undergoing a surge, an acceleration that could be very dangerous", adds Tajani, according to whom the seizure of a merchant ship yesterday in Hormuz "was a first sign of escalation, of the desire to demonstrate that they have military capabilities and willingness to show off their power."
Between Lebanon and Israel 1.100 Italian soldiers
As for Italy, “first we will mobilize the G7 countries of which we have the rotating presidency. We cannot give up political action which must run in parallel with the evaluation of the intensity of Iranian military action and the damage caused. The first objective is to throw water on the fire. Our thoughts go first of all to the Gaza Strip but also to Lebanon where we have 1.100 soldiers, on the border between Israel and areas where Hezbollah is present: We act in every way for their safety and we have received guarantees from Iran that there will be no repercussions. We don't want a spiral that politics may no longer be able to control."
