Israel’s defense minister said on Tuesday that threats from Iran would not deter Israel from responding to Sunday’s unprecedented air strikes on the Jewish state.
The Defense Ministry, referring to Yoav Galant’s comments during a visit to northern Israel, quoted him as saying: “The Iranian attacks failed and failed to deter Israel.”
Senior US officials said Iran’s attack on Israel was the first ever launched from Iranian soil and involved more than 110 ballistic missiles, 30 cruise missiles and more than 150 one-way explosive drones. They said Iran’s proxy forces in Iraq, Syria and Yemen were also involved in the attack.
Iranian officials issued a series of verbal warnings to Israel as they considered a response, vowing that Tehran would respond swiftly and harshly to Israeli actions that harm the Islamic Republic’s interests.
Iran called Sunday’s airstrike a one-off incident in retaliation for what Tehran said was an Israeli airstrike in Damascus on April 1 that killed a top Iranian commander. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
According to the Defense Department, “the Iranians will not be able to establish a new deterrent position against Israel.” “[Israeli] Aircraft are everywhere – the skies of the Middle East are ‘open’ and any enemy we fight will be hit, no matter where they are. ”
Israel’s war cabinet, including Galante, has met several times in recent days to discuss Israel’s response.
Former Israeli intelligence official Avi Melamed said in a phone interview with VOA’s “Flashpoint Global Crisis” program from northern Israel on Tuesday that Israel may retaliate against Iran, including direct military strikes on Iranian territory, cyber attacks or Some other covert dynamic action.
Melamed, director of the US-based nonprofit research group Inside the Middle East, said any Israeli retaliation would likely have to be coordinated with the United States. He said Israel’s response would also need to impose a significant cost on Iran and send a strong message to the region without causing the pain of further escalation in Iran.
“When I look at all of those components, I think it’s very likely that Israel will take a series of covert, significant actions against Iranian assets,” Melamed said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after consultations with regional counterparts that the United States does not want to see a further escalation in the conflict between Iran and Israel, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a news conference on Tuesday.
British media said that Israeli Prime Minister Sunak conveyed a similar message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Tuesday. They cited a transcript of the Downing Street call, which quoted Sunak as saying that “a significant escalation is in no one’s interest and will only deepen insecurity in the Middle East.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted on the Revolutionary Guards”. Terrorist organization.
The United States is one of several countries that has designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. The United States has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions targeting Iran’s ballistic missile program since October as United Nations sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program expired.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a news conference on Tuesday that some member states have proposed expanding “restrictive measures” against Iran.
He said he agreed with calls for the External Action Service, which implements the EU’s foreign and security policy, to start developing new sanctions that could punish Iran for providing weapons to its proxy forces and Iran’s supply of missiles to Russia.
VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching contributed to this report.
Follow us on Google news ,Twitter , and Join Whatsapp Group of thelocalreport.in
