Israel Vows Retaliation over Iran’s Attack, Amidst Calls for Restrain
Israel is calling for sanctions to be imposed on Iran after it launched an unprecedented attack on its territory at the weekend.
Israel’s war cabinet has met but not said what it plans to do – the military chief of staff has said the attack will not go unanswered.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on all sides to show restraint, with a number of other world leaders also urging against escalation.
Both the White House and UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron described Iran’s attack as a failure.
Belgium, France and Germany are among several countries that summoned Iranian ambassadors, adding to growing condemnation and mounting international pressure on Tehran.
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French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron made similar appeals. Washington and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have also issued calls for restraint.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby declined on Monday to say during a briefing whether Biden urged Netanyahu in talks on Saturday night to exercise restraint in responding to the attack.
The French foreign ministry said France was working with its partners to de-escalate the situation.
Russia has refrained from criticising its ally Iran in public over the strikes but expressed concern about the risk of escalation on Monday and also called for restraint.
Further escalation is in no one’s interests, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Iran mounted its attack after the April 1 killing in Damascus of seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers, including two senior commanders. Israel neither confirmed nor denied carrying out the attack.
