Iran attacks Israel, threatens more ‘heavier and regrettable response’

Tehran/Tel Aviv/Washington/Moscow/Beijing/New Delhi/New York: Hours after Iran and its proxies operating out of Yemen, Syria and Iraq—launched an air attack against military facilities in Israel last night, Tehran today warned that any new adventure by the “Zionist enemy” will be responded with a heavier and regrettable response.

“‘Resistance’ is the key word for restoring peace and security in the region and denying occupation and terrorism of any kind. The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the genocide and violence of the Zionist regime as the origin of the crisis in the region and will not spare any effort to maintain stability and security in the region,” Iran’s President Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi asserted in Tehran today.

Iran launched an unprecedented “large-scale” drone and missile attack on Israel on April 13, 2024, and the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was quick to describe it as “the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation”.

Israel stated that it was ready for any scenario, both defensively and offensively. The country’s secret agency, Mossad, claimed that Hamas was exploiting the tension with Iran and striving to unite the sectors to achieve a general escalation in the region. “Israel will continue to strive to realize the objectives of the war with Hamas with full force and leave no stone unturned to return the 133 hostages from Gaza forthwith,” Mossad asserted.

Iran’s President Dr Raisi informed that Iran attacked military targets in the occupied territories of Palestine in its “combined operations” following the instructions of Imam Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution. The Iranian President termed the attack as a “defensive measure, which was within the framework of the inherent right of legitimate defence” of Iran. He said the attacks were planned and implemented in response to the “aggressive actions of the Zionist regime against the targets and interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially the military attack of that regime on April 1, 2024, against the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus –which led to the martyrdom of a number of the famous brave men of our country”.

Dr Raisi further stated: “The wise, authoritative action of the Islamic Republic of Iran in defence of the integrity, sovereignty and national interests of the Islamic Republic has been a step towards punishing the aggressor and establishing stability in the region. Now, with tact and intelligence, the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the first step, targeted some military bases of the occupying, anti-security and anti-stability regime with its drone and missile operations”.

According to Dr Raisi, last night’s combined operational message was authority and deterrence for the Islamic Ummah and fear and humiliation for the enemies of humanity. He justified the attack on the pretext that the United Nations Security Council, “under the influence of the United States and some other supporters of the Zionist regime, has been unable to fulfil its duties”. He claimed that during the last six months and especially the last ten days, Iran had used all the regional and international tools and facilities to draw the attention of the international community to the deadly dangers resulting from the inaction of the United Nations Security Council against the continuous violations by the Zionist regime. 

The UN Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting for 4 pm (local time) on Sunday  (1:30 am Monday, Indian Standard Time) to discuss this latest flare-up in the region.

In Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had been preparing for a direct attack by Iran, and declared, “We have determined a clear principle: Whoever harms us, we will harm them”. The United States condemned Iran’s attack on Israel in the “strongest terms”, and President Joe Biden, one of Israel’s closest allies,  disclosed that at his direction, to support the defence of Israel, the US military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defence destroyers to the region over the course of the past week.  “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” Biden said.

The United States said it has been consulting its allies and partners in the region and around the world following the attack. Biden said he will convene G7 leaders to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s “brazen” attack. “My team will engage with their counterparts across the region.  And we will stay in close touch with Israel’s leaders.  And while we have not seen attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people,” he said.

Biden also spoke to Netanyahu over the telephone after Iran’s attack to ” reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment” to the security of Israel. “I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” Biden said.

The drone attack by Iran on Israel has made the world edgy as it threatens to snowball into a major escalation of the conflict beyond the region. Netanyahu appreciated the US standing alongside Israel, as well as the support of “Britain, France and many other countries”.

The anti-US camp has predictably come in support of Iran after the attacks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called up his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at the initiative of the Iranian side and reiterated Russia’s “strong condemnation” of the April 1 Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consular office in Damascus. Both foreign ministers emphasised that, just like political assassinations, any attacks on diplomatic or consular sites, the inviolability of which is guaranteed by the relevant Vienna conventions, were “absolutely” unacceptable, and both confirmed mutual commitment to maintaining a high level of coordination on international and regional agenda priorities. The Foreign Ministers emphasised both sides’ interest in steadily building up political and diplomatic cooperation, as well as trade and economic interaction in the transport and logistics sphere, among others, including transit traffic.

Dr Raisi on his part stated: “The power of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the power of security and serves to defend the interests of the countries and nations of the region. The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to advance the neighbourhood policy and promote friendship and cooperation with neighbouring countries.” 

China today described the ongoing situation as the latest spillover of the Gaza conflict. Expressing its “deep concern over the current escalation”, Beijing emphasised that there should be no more delays in implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2728 and the conflict must end now. It further called on “relevant parties to exercise calm and restraint to prevent further escalations”.

India, which maintains a good relationship with Iran and Israel as well, stated today that it was “closely monitoring” the evolving situation. “Our Embassies in the region are in close touch with the Indian community. It is vital that security and stability are maintained in the region,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated. India had anticipated such a scenario and had advised Indian nationals on April 12, 2024, not to travel to Iran or Israel given the prevailing situation in the region. It further advised all those who were currently residing in Iran or Israel to get in touch with Indian Embassies there and register themselves, observe utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to the minimum.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Guterres urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East. “I have repeatedly stressed that neither the region nor the world can afford another war,” he said.

Dennis Francis, President of the UN General Assembly, while expressing his concerns about the unfolding situation in the Middle East, involving the launch by Iran of drones and missiles against Israel, hoped that the Iranian authorities “will honour their word that by their action today, the matter can be deemed concluded”. He referred to Iran’s explanation that its action was in the context of Article 51 of the UN Charter, following the recent Israeli attack on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus. “The Iranian response compounds the already tense and delicate peace and security situation in the Middle East. I strongly call upon all parties to exercise the utmost restraint to avoid further escalation of tension in the region. This is a moment that calls for wise and prudent judgement, in which the risks and extended risks are very carefully considered,” Francis said. He warned that a vicious cycle of attack and counter-attack will lead to nowhere, but inevitably, to more death, suffering and misery. “Dialogue and diplomacy are the only way to resolve any differences through peaceful means,” he stressed.