Israel has vowed that it will respond to Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attack over the weekend despite Western calls for calm, as the Middle East teeters on the edge of all-out war.
Army Chief of Staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi said that Israel is still considering what steps it will take, but was unequivocal as he declared that the Iranian bombardment of his country on April 13 ‘will be met with a response’.
Leaks from Israel’s war cabinet have reportedly suggested that a ‘painful’ revenge strike on Iran is being planned that will not cause mass casualties, though hardliners have demanded that Netanyahu shows that it is willing to ‘go berserk’.
As Benjamin Netanyahu continues to debate what retaliation it will unleash, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to use a phone call with the Israeli premier today to urge him to show ‘restraint’.
But leading voices in defence, including respected former minister Ben Wallace, have urged Western leaders to support Israel in its response to ‘bullies’ like Iran – and to even stand up to the regime themselves if necessary.
Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, speaks during a meeting with pilots at the Nevatim Air Force base in southern Israel
Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak making a statement on Iran’s missile attack on Israel, in the House of Commons, in London, on April 15, 2024
An Iranian missile launch is seen in this footage, claimed to be the first missile launched towards Israel in Tehran’s attack over the weekend
‘Everybody agrees that Israel must respond,’ an Israeli official told the Washington Post. ‘How to respond, when to respond, is the question.’
It comes as the United Nations nuclear watchdog chief expressed concerns on Monday about Israel potentially targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, as he announced inspections paused on Sunday and Monday would resume nonetheless.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said Iran closed its nuclear facilities temporarily over ‘security considerations’ and that while they reopened on Monday, he kept IAEA inspectors away ‘until we see that the situation is completely calm.’
When asked about the possibility of an Israel strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, Grossi said: ‘We are always concerned about this possibility.’ He urged ‘extreme restraint.’
As Benjamin Netanyahu walks a ‘tightrope’ between escalation and deterrence, former defence secretary Ben Wallace did not mince his words of warning.
‘The only way to deal with a bully is to retaliate,’ he said. ‘The only option when Iran and Russia hit, I have concluded, is to hit back twice as hard and not stop until they get the message.’
The Iranian attack on Saturday marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi expressed concerns on Monday about Israel potentially targeting Iranian nuclear facilities
The attack happened less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building.
The Israeli military says that 99 per cent of the around 350 drones and missiles launched by Iran were intercepted, with the help of other countries including the United States, the UK and France.
Despite the unprecedented scale of the attack, experts have said it exposed Iran’s ‘lacklustre’ arsenal, signalling how its outdated aircraft and defences would be no match for Israel’s in the event of full-scale war.
‘I think the attack, which was designed to be spectacular but not fatal, really puts on display the limits to Iran’s deterrence,’ Ali Vaez, who heads the Iran Project at International Crisis Group.
He added that if Iran’s regional deterrence is diminished, Tehran ‘is likely to consider the ultimate deterrent, which comes in the form of nuclear weapons,’ adding ‘they’ve never been closer’.
Israel today threatened airstrikes on Iran in retaliation for a 350-missile blitz amid fears the conflict will spiral into all-out war in the Middle East. Pictured: Rocket trails are seen in the sky above Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem as Iranian missiles are intercepted by air defences
Iran could be seeking to stock up on modern aircraft and weapons with help from Russia, according to a Washington Post report last night, which suggested that Moscow has made pledges to its ally to help secure its defence against Israel.
Citing intelligence officials, the paper reported that Russia is ‘advancing’ agreements negotiated in secret to supply Iran with Su-35 fighter-bombers, which could help to dramatically upgrade the ageing Iranian air force.
Moscow also promised technical help with Iranian spy satellites and rocket-building assistance with the aim to launch more satellites, the officials are reported to have said.
Rumblings about the IRGC becoming a terrorist organisation in the UK have been ongoing for months now, and since the attack Mr Sunak has come under mounting pressure to designate Iran’s military as a terrorist group following its attack on Israel.
The Prime Minister condemned Tehran as a ‘despotic regime’ in the wake of its unprecedented missile blitz at the weekend.
Mr Sunak praised RAF pilots who helped shoot down more than 300 drones and missiles fired at Israel by Iran on Saturday night – and said that defending Israel’s security was a ‘non-negotiable’ priority for the UK.
But he faced calls from both senior Tories and Labour to take tougher action against Tehran, including formally proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
An anti-Israel billboard with a picture of Iranian missiles is seen in a street in Tehran, Iran April 15, 2024
An Israeli army f-15 fighter jet flies over central Israel on April 15, 2024
Israel’s ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely backed the move, saying Iran was ‘a threat to the UK as well’.
She told LBC: ‘Maybe the UK will be next with these kind of drones… they won’t hesitate to do that here.’
READ MORE: How Israel could respond to Iran attack – from covert ops behind enemy lines to blitz on Tehran’s proxies or devastating missile and ‘bunker bomb’ strikes on nuke sites… amid fears escalation could trigger WW3
In the Commons yesterday, Mr Sunak said: ‘With this attack Iran has once again shown its true colours. They are intent on sowing chaos… on further destabilising the Middle East. We’re working urgently with our allies to de-escalate the situation and prevent further bloodshed.
‘We want to see calmer heads prevail and we’re directing all our diplomatic efforts to that end.’
Mr Sunak also acknowledged that the behaviour of Iran, including the actions of the IRGC, ‘poses a significant threat to the safety and security of the UK’.
The IRGC operates as an elite military force for Iran’s regime and works closely with Hamas and Hezbollah, which have already been designated as terrorist groups. Proscribing the IRGC would squeeze its ability to operate in the UK by making it a criminal offence to deal with it or promote it. It would also effectively label Iran a terrorist state.
But Whitehall sources warned that proscribing the IRGC would make it impossible to talk to the organisation directly, removing a valuable diplomatic back channel.
The move is being resisted by Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, who has spoken of the need to have ‘diplomatic channels as a route to de-escalation’, including on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Former home secretary Suella Braverman urged the PM to ‘put the UK’s security first’, adding: ‘We have known for years that the IRGC is the world’s chief sponsor of terrorism.’ Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the PM: ‘All roads lead back to Tehran when it comes to the terrible violence and wars in the Middle East.’
Labour also backed tougher action against the IRGC. Sir Keir Starmer said Iran was ‘a regime that sponsors terror across the Middle East and beyond, that murders and represses its own people, and supports Putin’s war efforts in Ukraine’.