Israel threatens retaliation if Iran attacks

Tel Aviv. Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will return any attack on Israeli interests, while the United States warned its allies that Iran is moving to retaliate for Israel’s attack on its consulate in Damascus, Syria, on April 1.

“We will harm whoever harms us. We are prepared to meet all the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively,” Netanyahu said in comments issued by his office after a visit to the Tel Nof air base. .

Iran blames Israel for killing one of its top generals and six other Iranian officials in an airstrike on its embassy in the Syrian capital earlier this month. Tel Aviv has not taken responsibility for that action, but Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Israel “must and will be punished” for the attack.

Washington has warned its allies that Iranian retaliation could be imminent and has asked them to pressure Tehran to restrain itself, officials said. Financial Times. There are fears that Iran will respond directly, rather than using allies such as the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which would mark a significant escalation of hostilities in the region, six months after the start of the Israeli war in Gaza.

Western leaders lined up this Thursday to call on Iran to restrain itself. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described the ayatollah’s comments as “unacceptable” and added that Britain has already “highlighted Iran as a significant risk to regional security.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also called on her Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, to ask for “maximum caution.”

Iranian-backed groups have launched missiles across the border from Lebanon into Israel, at US military bases in Iraq and from Yemen at cargo ships in the Red Sea.

All of them have expressed support for the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel launched its war in the territory after a brutal Hamas attack inside Israel on October 7, during which it killed 1,200 people and captured 253 hostages.

The US envoy to the Middle East reportedly called the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iraq to ask them to send a message to Iran, urging it to reduce tensions with Israel.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sunak echoed comments from US President Joe Biden that the UK “fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself” from Iranian attacks.

During a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, Biden noted that Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security in the face of threats from Iran and its allies is “unwavering.”

However, the message of unrestricted support masks the tensions that have been growing between the two allies over the Israeli assault on Gaza. Biden noted earlier this week that she had been “very strong” in recent talks with Netanyahu regarding reducing Palestinian casualties.

At least 33,545 Palestinians have died since the Israeli offensive began, according to the Gaza health ministry; Most of the 2.1 million inhabitants have been displaced and much of the territory is destroyed.

As Netanyahu warned of his country’s readiness to combat an Iranian threat, Israeli troops and aircraft began a nighttime operation in central Gaza, which the military said was aimed at destroying infrastructure of Palestinian armed groups.

Most Israeli troops have been withdrawn from the south of the strip, in preparation for an assault on the city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians take refuge, although fighting has continued in several areas of the enclave.

Translation: Jorge Anaya