Netanyahu rebuffs plea for restraint in response to Iran attack

Benjamin Netanyahu today rebuffed a plea from Lord Cameron for restraint in responding to Iran . After talks with the Foreign Secretary in Jerusalem, the Israeli PM expressed gratitude for assistance from the UK and other allies. But he insisted that the country will ‘make our own decisions’ on retaliation and ‘do everything necessary to defend itself’. Lord Cameron and German counterpart Annalena Baerbock met Mr Netanyahu as the Middle East teeters on the edge of a major escalation.

Rishi Sunak also spoke to the premier last night as allies step up pressure in a bid to avoid a broader conflict. This morning Lord Cameron said it was clear that Israel is ‘making a decision to act’ following Iran’s unprecedented weekend blitz which saw 300 drones and missiles fired – most of which were intercepted. Tehran has in turn warned it would respond by deploying ‘weapons it has never used’ in a ‘painful and severe’ counterattack. After thanking the ministers for their support, Mr Netanyahu said: ‘I want to make it clear – we will make our own decisions, and the State of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself.’

Ms Baerbock said escalation ‘would serve no one, not Israel’s security, not the many dozens of hostages still in the hands of Hamas, not the suffering population of Gaza, not the many people in Iran who are themselves suffering under the regime, and not the third countries in the region who simply want to live in peace’. After arriving in Israel, Lord Cameron said ‘it is clear the Israelis are making a decision to act’. He expressed the British government ‘s ‘hope’ that ‘Israel acts in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible’. Speaking to broadcasters the peer said: ‘It is right to have shown solidarity with Israel. It is right to have made our views clear about what should happen next, but it is clear the Israelis are making the decision to act.

‘We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible and in a way that, as I said yesterday, is smart as well as tough. ‘But the real need is to refocus back on Hamas, back on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, back on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza,’ he added. He also said that more should be done to sanction Iran following its attack. ‘We want to see coordinated sanctions against Iran,’ he continued. ‘Britain has in many ways led the way with our new sanctions regime, sanctioning dozens of people in Iran, sanctioning the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) in its entirety, and I think there is more that we can do to show a united front, that Iran is behind so much of the malign activity in this region, backing Hamas, backing Hezbollah, backing the Houthis.

‘They need to be given a clear and unequivocal message by the G7 and I hope that will happen at the weekend.’ In talks with Netanyahu yesterday Mr Sunak also called for ‘calm’ and warned that ‘significant escalation will only deepen instability in the region’. He added: ‘This is a moment for calm heads to prevail.’ Lord Cameron’s visit to Israel comes before G7 foreign ministers meet in Italy on Friday amid the brewing crisis. Meanwhile, Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi warned during an annual army parade that the ‘tiniest invasion’ by Israel would bring a ‘massive and harsh’ response, as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation.

His comments came after Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee Abolfazl Amoue stated that Iran is ‘prepared to use a weapon that we have never used’ if Israel responds further to Tehran’s weekend attack. Speaking on Monday, he said Israel should consider its next steps and ‘act wisely.’ Raisi said Saturday’s attack was a limited one, and that if Iran had wanted to carry out a bigger attack, ‘nothing would remain from the Zionist regime. His remarks were carried by the official IRNA news agency. It was also reported on Wednesday that Iranian Navy Commander Shahram Irani has said Iran’s navy would escort its commercial ships to the Red Sea – putting Iranian warships directly on Israel’s doorstep.

Tasnim news agency quoted Irani as saying: ‘The Islamic Republic of Iran [is] carrying out a mission to escort our commercial ships, and now the Jamaran destroyer is present in the Gulf of Aden with all its strength. ‘This mission will continue until It will also be the Red Sea,’ he said according to the outlet, adding: ‘We escort our ships from the Gulf of Aden to the Suez Strait and are ready to protect the ships of other countries as well. ‘For a long time, the balance of power in the region has changed despite the resistance force. Today, with the operation of the honest promise, it was proved to everyone that Muslims are speaking one thing together and that is supporting the oppressed and confronting the oppressor. ‘Operation True Promise [Iran’s missile attack on Israel] proved to the whole world how real power works with fake power on stage,’ the commander said.

Israel and Iran have waged a shadow war for decades, but the strike over the weekend was the first direct Iranian military attack on Israel. The attack was in response to an apparent Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals. Israel, with help from the United States, the United Kingdom, neighbouring Jordan and other nations, successfully intercepted nearly all the missiles and drones. Israel has vowed to respond, without saying when or how, while its allies have urged all sides to avoid further escalation. After the visit to Israel, Lord Cameron will join other Group of Seven leaders on the Italian resort island of Capri, which also comes amid Russia’s continuing war in Ukraine where – analysts fear – the tide is turning in Vladimir Putin’s favour.

Under Italy’s rotating stewardship, the G7 leaders are expected to issue a united call for Israel to exercise restraint. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had spoken to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, on Tuesday and urged Israel to not only de-escalate any reaction to Iran’s attack but to stave off a planned offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah. ‘I reiterated this message and I believe that on the occasion of the G7 foreign ministers in Capri, tomorrow and Friday morning, a similar message will be sent,’ Tajani told state-run RAI. With Israel’s war in Gaza in its sixth month, Tehran’s attack added a new element of urgency to the three-day meeting, with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock making a last-minute visit to Israel before arriving on Capri on Wednesday evening. ‘We will discuss how a further escalation with more and more violence can be prevented,’ she said. ‘Because what matters now is to put a stop to Iran without encouraging further escalation,’ Baerbock said, in calling for new sanctions against Tehran.

Germany, a staunch ally of Israel, has been among the chorus of European and US leaders urging Israel to de-escalate tensions and not retaliate for Tehran’s attack, which was largely repelled thanks to US and allied help. Tensions have ramped up since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on October 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a cross-border terror attack that killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others. Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,800 people, according to local health officials. World leaders have urged Israel not to retaliate after Iran launched a revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a region-wide war. The attack involved hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles fired toward the Jewish state, most of which were intercepted by Israel’s air defence systems, with help from the US, UK, France, Jordan and other regional allies.

The attack happened less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building. The Iranian attack prompted an emergency video-conference Sunday of G7 leaders who strongly condemned Iran’s ‘direct and unparalleled attack against Israel,’ and reaffirmed their commitment to Israel’s security. At the same time, the G7 leaders vowed in a joint statement to work to prevent a further escalation of tensions in the region, while also reaffirming the need for an ‘immediate and sustainable cease-fire’ and release of hostages taken by Hamas. Russia’s two-year war in Ukraine is also topping the agenda in Capri. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, an invited guest to the meeting on Thursday, is expected to repeat his country’s need for essential military support, including artillery, ammunition, and air defence systems to bolster its capacity.

Russia is making gains along the front line which has been put down to a lack of firepower on the Ukrainian side, as well as dwindling manpower. The United States and several European countries are discussing proposals to use the profits generated from billions of euros of frozen Russian assets to help provide weapons and other funds for Ukraine. The proposals that have gained steam as Ukraine runs dangerously low on munitions, and US efforts to get new funds for weapons have stalled in Congress. At the EU level, leaders are to discuss the proposal at a summit Wednesday in Brussels. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, meanwhile, is expected in Capri. The 27-nation EU is holding around 200 billion euros in Russian central bank assets, most of it frozen in Belgium, in retaliation for Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

The bloc estimates that the interest on that money could provide around 3 billion euros each year. The Biden administration is also looking into the possibility of tapping into Russian assets. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday she will meet with G7 finance ministers to discuss, among other things, Russian sovereign assets. ‘We’re looking at a series of possibilities ranging from actually seizing the assets to using them as collateral,’ she told reporters in Washington. She said Ukraine needs more help and said she fears that Russia is beginning to see signs that the US and its allies are ‘tiring and finding it more difficult to find ways to support Ukraine.’ ‘That makes us focused on finding a way to unlock economic value and a stream of resources from the Russian sovereign assets’ that have been immobilised, she said. The European Central Bank has warned in the past against seizing Russian assets themselves as this could undermine confidence in the euro currency and EU markets. But Borrell has said that under the EU plan, no assets would be taken, only the windfall profits they make.

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