‘A hero in the eyes of Palestinians’: Iran attack praised in Gaza
Footage circulated from Gaza shows many residents, including inside displacement tents, whistling and others chanting in joy as Israel’s skies were lit up by Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptors.
“Whoever decides to attack Israel, dares to attack Israel at a time when the whole world acts in its service, is a hero in the eyes of Palestinians regardless of whether we share their [Iran] ideology or not,” said Majed Abu Hamza, 52, a father of seven, from Gaza City.
“We have been slaughtered for over six months and no one dared to do anything. Now Iran, after its consulate was hit, is hitting back at Israel and this brings joy into our hearts.”
The Palestinian group Hamas defended Iran’s attack, saying the assault was “a natural right and a deserved response” to the strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria’s capital Damascus on April 1.
Turkey’s foreign minister speaks to Iranian counterpart
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has held a telephone conversation with Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian. Fidan said his government did not want any more escalation in the region, according to diplomatic sources.
Amirabdollahian told the Turkish minister that Iran’s retaliatory operation against Israel had ended and that the country would not undertake another action unless it was attacked.
Iran has taken Middle East to the ‘edge of the precipice’: Germany
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says Iran’s attack on Israel has pushed the Middle East to the “edge of a precipice”. She said Tehran had “plunged an entire region into chaos” and said the spiralling tensions need to end.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz denounced the “grave escalation”, underlined Berlin’s “solidarity” with Israel, and called for restraint. He told reporters during a visit to China, “We cannot but call on everyone, in particular Iran, to not continue along this path.”
The ball is in your court to de escalate. Iran has already said they're done with the matter. So call on yourself and Israel to de escalate.
Here is the real danger
Far-right minister Smotrich calls for Israel to respond to Iran attack
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called on the government to respond to Iran’s attack. “If our response will resonate throughout the Middle East for generations to come – we will win,” the far-right politician said.
“If we restrain ourselves, we will put us and our children in an immediate existential danger,” he added.
Gantz says Israel to exact price from Iran when time is ‘right’
EU foreing policy chief sets extraordinary meeting for Tuesday
Josep Borrell, EU’s foreign policy chief, called an extraordinary video meeting of the bloc’s top diplomats on Tuesday to “contribute to de-escalation and security in the region”.
Following the Iranian attacks against Israel, I have called an extraordinary VTC meeting of EU Foreign Affairs ministers, on Tuesday.
Our objective is to contribute to de-escalation and security of the region.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) April 14, 2024
US reiterating it does not want war with Iran
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby has been making the rounds on the Sunday TV chat shows here in the United States and the message is very clear. He has repeatedly reiterated on behalf of the US president, “We do not seek to have war with Iran.”
Τhe US president is convening a conference with the G7 leaders, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be discussing with his counterparts across western Europe and elsewhere in order to try and bring the temperature down, if you will.
What they are trying to do is to see that this does not broaden across the Middle East.
UK seems eager
UK moves additional warplanes to the Middle East
The British government says it moved “several additional” fighter jets and refueling tankers to the region following Iran’s attack on Israel.
In a statement, the government said the air assets will bolster the UK’s existing operation against the armed group ISIL (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq, as well as intercepting “any airborne attacks within the range of our existing missions as required”.
A spokesperson said a “number of aircraft” have been “temporarily moved” from Romania to boost “our existing footprint in the region”.
G7 condemns Iran’s attack on Israel
After a video conference held by G7 leaders, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, said the group “unanimously condemned” the drone and missile attack, but added that “all parties must exercise restraint”.
“We will continue all our efforts to work towards de-escalation. Ending the crisis in Gaza as soon as possible, notably through an immediate ceasefire, will make a difference,” Michel added.
He also said that the situation in the wider region, including in Lebanon, would be discussed at the European Council next week.
With #G7 leaders, we unanimously condemned Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel.
All parties must exercise restraint. We will continue all our efforts to work towards de-escalation. Ending the crisis in Gaza as soon as possible, notably through an immediate ceasefire, will… pic.twitter.com/BIcrwDWxyV
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) April 14, 2024
US and Iran had contact through Swiss intermediaries ahead of attack: Report
Reuters, citing a senior official in the administration of US President Joe Biden, reports that the United States had contact with Iran through Swiss intermediaries both before and after Tehran’s overnight drone and missile attack on Israel.
The official declined to provide details on the contact, saying only that the US and Iran had “a series of direct communications through the Swiss channel”.
Asked about comments by Iran’s foreign minister that Tehran had given regional countries 72 hours’ notice of the attacks, the official said that was not true. “They did not give a notification,” the official said. “They were clearly intending to destroy and to cause casualties.”
Yet somehow all regional countries closed their air spaces ahead of the attack and cancelled flights...
More projection, the central threat is Israel's right wing government.
Israeli FM discusses Iran’s ‘threat’ to regional stability with Egyptian counterpart
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz says he spoke to his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry and emphasised Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran.
“I stressed that Iran and its proxies are the central threat to stability in the Middle East,” Katz wrote.
“The moderate countries in the region, along with the rest of the world, must act to stop Iran’s aggression. The relationship with Egypt is important, and we will continue to work together to maintain stability and security in the region.”
Just spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and emphasized Israel's right to self-defence against Iran's unprecedented aggression. I stressed that Iran and its proxies are the central threat to stability in the Middle East. The moderate countries in the region, along… pic.twitter.com/JzvNIji7Xt
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) April 14, 2024
‘When you have a genocidal state in the neighbourhood, people get concerned’
Foad Izadi, a professor in the Faculty of World Studies at Tehran University, spoke to Al Jazeera about what Iranians feel about last night’s attacks on Israel. He said Iranians have seen pictures coming out of Gaza and realise that “Israelis have no ethical standards”.
“When you have a genocidal state in the neighbourhood, people get concerned. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Iran is able and willing to defend itself, and that’s what last night’s attack was all about,” he said.
He said Iranians are now confident that the country is able to defend the territory of Iran.
“It may be true that most of the rockets were intercepted, but some got in,” he noted, adding, “and with a few of those missiles, you can achieve the policy objective, which is creating deterrence – the idea of don’t attack Iran because if you attack Iran, there’s going to be a cost.”
