US President Joe Biden informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States will not participate in any counterattack on Iran if Israel decides to respond to a major attack it was subjected to on Saturday evening with drones and missiles, officials said.
The possibility of an open war breaking out between the two arch-rivals, with the United States drawn into it, fuels tension in the Middle East, prompting global powers and Arab countries to call for restraint in order to avoid further escalation.
“The Middle East is on the brink of the abyss,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a UN Security Council meeting held today in response to the attack. “The people of the region face a real danger of a devastating, large-scale conflict. Now is the time to defuse the conflict and reduce the escalation.”
Robert Wood, deputy US delegate to the United Nations, called on the 15-member council to explicitly denounce the Iranian attack, and said that the Security Council is committed to taking measures so that the Iranian attack does not go unanswered.
He added, “In the coming days, and in consultation with other member states, the United States will explore additional measures to hold Iran accountable here at the United Nations,” without specifying what action his country will take.
“To be frank, if Iran or its proxies take measures against the United States or take other measures against Israel, Iran will bear responsibility,” he continued, adding that the United States had taken note of Guterres’ statements and that Washington’s actions were defensive.
As Washington stressed its desire to avoid escalation, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with their counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan, and stressed the need to avoid escalation and the importance of a unified diplomatic response, and stressed that the United States will continue its support for the defense of Israel.
Israeli officials said that Netanyahu’s five-member war cabinet approved the response at a meeting on Sunday, although it was divided over the timing and scope of any such response.
Concern prevailed in the markets due to the fear of a widening of the scope of the war, but early Asian transactions were calm with a decline in oil prices, a rise in gold, and a stable dollar.
Iran launched the attack in response to a suspected Israeli air strike on its consulate in Syria on April 1, which killed senior Revolutionary Guard commanders, and came after months of confrontations between Israel and Iran’s allies in the region over the war in Gaza.
However, the attack with more than 300 missiles and drones, most of which were launched from inside Iran, caused only minor damage in Israel since most of them were shot down with the help of allies including the United States, Britain and Jordan.
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2024-04-15 01:57:27
