Attack on Iran: Tehran says it had ‘no choice’, Israel calls for sanctions

Fear of regional conflict is growing stronger. This Sunday at the UN, Iran said it had “no choice but to exercise its right to self-defense” by launching hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel. This unprecedented attack, dubbed the “Honest Promise”, was carried out on the night of Saturday and Sunday in response to an attack attributed to Israel on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1.

Israel said it had “disrupted” the overnight operation, shooting down 99% of more than 350 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise ships with the help of the United States, Britain, France and others. which was heading towards his territory. “Iran’s unprecedented attack was countered by unprecedented defense,” Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.

Iran, for its part, said it had “achieved all its goals.” Iran’s Irna news agency reported “severe damage at the crucial Negev air base” in southern Israel. Only a few ballistic missiles “entered and lightly hit” the military base, which remains operational, Adm. Hagary said, reporting several minor injuries and a seven-year-old girl in intensive care.

At the same time as the attack, Tehran’s allies, Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, fired missiles and drones into Israeli territory.

“The Middle East is on the brink of an abyss”

The UN “failed in its duty to maintain international peace and security” by failing to condemn the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Iran’s UN ambassador Emir Saeed Iravani said during an emergency Security Council meeting convened on Sunday evening.

“Under these circumstances, the Islamic Republic of Iran had no choice but to exercise its right to self-defense,” he said. He assured that Tehran does not want escalation, but will respond to “any threat or aggression.”

Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan, for his part, called on the Security Council to “impose all possible sanctions against Iran before it is too late.” Speaking to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that “the Middle East is on the brink of an abyss.” He condemned both the Iranian attack and the strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, emphasizing the “principle of inviolability” of diplomatic institutions.

The strike cost the lives of seven members of the Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s ideological army. Tehran accused Israel, which it neither confirmed nor denied.

Iran launched the attack more than six months after Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip against Palestinian Hamas, an ally of the Islamic Republic, further raising tensions between the two countries. Israel has been Iran’s archenemy since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which called for its destruction.

But until now Tehran has refrained from attacking Israel head-on, and the two countries have become accustomed to confronting each other through third parties such as Hezbollah.

Some analysts see an Israeli response as almost inevitable. But before retaliating, “it’s not just a matter of consultation, but also of getting Washington’s approval,” said Tamir Heyman, the former head of Israeli military intelligence.

Iran, for its part, seemed to want to avoid escalation, said Nick Heras, an analyst at the American research group New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy. The attack “was intended to be seen around the world, but not to escalate the situation into a full-scale regional war,” he told AFP.