BRUSSELS, JERUSALEM, TEHRAN: Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, declared on Wednesday that his nation would determine how to react to Iran amid a diplomatic frenzy intended to defuse an already tense situation.
Tehran, however, declared that its air force and troops were prepared to repel any Israeli strike.
Israel is under pressure from its allies not to retaliate against Iran.
The first Western envoys to visit Israel and call for calm were British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock. However, Netanyahu informed the visiting ministers that Israel “will reserve the right to protect itself,” according to his office.
The German FM urged “prudent restraint,” stating that the area shouldn’t get into a scenario where the result is totally unforeseeable.
“We’re very anxious to avoid escalation and to say to our friends in Israel: It’s a time to think with head as well as heart,” Mr. Cameron stated in the interim.
A number of other Western and Arab leaders have also called for de-escalation and the US has already made it clear that it will not support any attack on Iran.
In response to Iran’s first-ever direct attack, Israel’s military leader, Herzi Halevi, has already promised “a response,” and military spokesperson Daniel Hagari emphasized that Tehran would not go away “scot-free.”
However, it is still unknown when and how Israel would launch an attack, as well as whether it would go after Iran’s interests or supporters abroad in nations like Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, or Iraq.
One of the ways Israel can retaliate is by attacking Revolutionary Guards outposts or Iranian nuclear research facilities directly.
Iran conducts a military show
At the same time, Hamas referred to Tehran’s actions as a “legitimate and deserved” reaction to an attack on the Islamic republic’s consulate in Syria, while Iran lauded the “success” of the drone and missile strike during its annual military parade on Wednesday.
“The response from the Islamic Republic of Iran confirms that the time when the Zionist entity could act as it wanted without accountability or punishment has ended,” declared Hamas in its initial statement.
President Ebrahim Raisi declared at a military facility on the outskirts of Tehran that the operation known as Honest Promise “took down the glory of the Zionist dictatorship (Israel).
“This operation demonstrated the readiness of our armed forces,” he added, addressing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the regular army.
He was quoted by state media as saying, “Any attack by the Zionist regime (Israel) on our soil will be dealt with a severe response.”
Raisi also criticized nations who had “sought to normalize relations” with Israel in his address.
“Now, these nations are humiliated in front of their own people, which is a strategic failure for the Israeli regime,” he continued.
At the same event, the commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force declared that all of its aircraft, including the Sukhoi-24s built in Russia, were in the “best state of preparedness” to fend off any Israeli attacks.
Iran’s adversaries were cautioned by Air Force Commander Hamid Vahedi not to commit a “strategic error.”
“We are completely prepared on every aerial front,” the ISNA news agency cited him as saying.
Iranian forces displayed a variety of military hardware at the parade on Wednesday, including long-range ballistic missiles and drones.
They included various iterations of the Dezful medium-range ballistic missile, the S-300 air defense missile system, and the Ababil, Arash, and Mohajer drones.
EU and G7 pursuing sanctions
Separately, the head of EU foreign policy, Josep Borrell, stated that the EU was also trying to increase the scope of sanctions against Iran, particularly with regard to its transfer of weapons and drones to Russia and other Middle Eastern proxy organizations.
More than six months after Israel’s war in Gaza began, leaders of the European Union gathered on Wednesday to discuss intensifying sanctions against Iran in an effort to avert a wider conflict in the Middle East.
A draft statement issued prior of the summit stated, “The EU is ready to take further restrictive measures against Iran, notably in relation to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missiles.”
Meanwhile, in Italy, G7 foreign ministers convened on Wednesday to discuss issues mostly related to the Middle East conflict. Among those present at the Group of Seven summit is US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Antonio Tajani, the foreign minister of Italy, declared that sanctions on Iran were “in the works.”
