New Delhi:
Hezbollah last night launched a barrage of Katyusha rockets at an Israeli army headquarters in northern Israel amid tensions between Israel and Iran. Hezbollah is an armed group based in Lebanon that is funded financially and militarily by Iran.

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Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani holds a press conference at the end of the G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, April 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Group of Seven Foreign Ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on April 19 for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who chaired the meeting of Ministers of industrialised countries, said the agenda of the three-day meeting was changed on April 19 to address the latest developments.

Iran-Israel Crisis LIVE Updates, April 19, 2024

Early Friday, Iran fired air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones. They were suspected to be part of an Israeli attack in retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country last weekend.

Mr. Tajani didn’t immediately address the incident, but said that G7 ministers condemned Iran’s weekend attack on Israel and urged both sides to exercise restraint.

“The political objective is de-escalation,” Mr. Tajani said in a closing press conference.

Israel launched a retaliatory strike on Iran following last week’s missile and drone barrage from Tehran, according to two US officials, though media from both countries appeared to downplay the severity of the incident.

An explosion was heard early Friday in Isfahan, Iran’s third-biggest city, Fars news agency reported. Nuclear facilities located there are safe, state television and the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said.

Neither the Iranian nor Israeli government has confirmed there was a strike by Israel. The Jewish state rarely comments on specific military actions linked to Iran.

Flights were suspended in Isfahan and the Iranian cities of Tehran and Shiraz as well as airports across the country’s western borders, but those restrictions were soon eased.

The incident follows days of frantic diplomacy from the US and European nations in which they tried to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to respond too aggressively, if at all, to Saturday night’s Iranian attack. Their main concern is to avoid a wider war in a region already roiled by the Israel-Hamas conflict and which could send oil prices above $100 a barrel.

Crude and gold initially jumped in early trading on Friday, but later pared their gains as reports suggested the apparent attack was far from extensive. A senior Iranian military official also said Tehran had already responded to Israeli threats, and didn’t blame the Jewish state for the latest incident.

Isfahan is home to around 2 million people and several military bases and facilities. It’s believed to have been one of several launch sites for Iran’s attack on Israel on Saturday night.

The New York Times said two Israeli officials confirmed their nation was behind the strike. The newspaper also reported a military air base near Isfahan was struck.

Israel notified the US on Thursday it planned to retaliate in the next 24-48 hours, two American officials said to Bloomberg. They asked not to be identified discussing private conversations. Spokespeople for the National Security Council and the Pentagon declined to comment.

Brent crude oil climbed above $90 a barrel before trading around $87.80 as of 9 a.m. in London, up less than 1% on the day.

Gold also quickly reversed its jump. Yields on 10-year US Treasuries — another haven for global investors in times of geopolitical stress — fell around four basis points to 4.59%.

The shekel weakened this week to its lowest level in 2024, though was steady on Friday at 3.78 per dollar. That was despite S&P Global Ratings downgrading Israel by one level to A+ — still easily in investment-grade territory — hours before the reported attack.

Israel had vowed to retaliate against Iran for its barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles, the vast majority of which were destroyed before hitting their targets. While there was limited damage and no one was killed, Israel said it would send a message of weakness to Iran and its other enemies if it didn’t respond.

Iran said it was a justified reaction to a strike on its embassy compound in Syria on April 1, which killed several Iranian officers and was blamed on Israel.

The US, Europe and Arab states urged Netanyahu to act with restraint. The foreign ministers of the UK and Germany both traveled to Israel on Wednesday to see him.

Netanyahu faced a dilemma this week. While many of his far-right coalition members insisted on a firm response, the Israeli public was split on whether the country should react at all. Many, according to a poll, said it wasn’t worth provoking Iran and straining Israel’s ties with the US.

Israel is more than six months into the war in Gaza and still intent on attacking the city of Rafah, where it says several thousand Hamas fighters are lodged. Many in the country want the government to focus on finishing the conflict against the Iran-backed militant group that launched a deadly invasion on Oct. 7.

Ball in Iran’s Court

If attributed to Israel, the nature and scope of the strike on Friday — including any casualties — could determine whether the tit-for-tat responses between the two sides escalate or start to get scaled back.

“The ball is in Iran’s court now,” said Ziad Daoud, chief emerging-market economist for Bloomberg Economics. “The most likely scenario is avoiding escalation through another direct attack on Israel.”

Many analysts had said targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities would be the riskiest and most aggressive option open to Israel, with strikes on non-nuclear military facilities and cyberattacks among the less escalatory choices.

Early indications are that this was a “symbolic attack” that won’t force Iran to respond aggressively, retired Israeli General Israel Ziv told the nation’s Channel 12.

Israel’s hawkish national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, suggested he wasn’t happy with his country’s apparent response.

“Weak,” he said in a one-word post on X in Hebrew.

Ben Gvir isn’t part of Netanyahu’s Likud party and doesn’t sit in the five-man war cabinet that takes final decisions on military actions. But he’s key to the survival of Netanyahu’s coalition and said after Iran’s attack that Israel had to hit back hard.

Iranian media portrayed a sense of calm in Isfahan and asserted that everything was proceeding as normal. The country’s Supreme National Security Council decided against convening for an emergency meeting, according to state TV.

Iran was bracing for a reprisal by Israel all week.

Tehran has routinely accused Israel of attacks and sabotage activities targeting its nuclear and military sites in the past, including in Isfahan, home to some key nuclear enrichment and missile facilities. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes but the West accuses it of seeking to develop atomic weapons.

On Thursday, Iran said it may reconsider its nuclear policies if Israel attacked its atomic sites.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian also warned Israel against lashing out after the weekend assault.

“In case the Israeli regime embarks on adventurism again and takes action against the interests of Iran, the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level,” he said to CNN.

Tehran:

Explosions rocked Iran’s central Isfahan province on Friday, according to state media, while US officials told American news outlets that Israel carried out a retaliatory strike on the Islamic republic.

The attack comes less than a week after Tehran launched a barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles in its first-ever direct assault on Israel’s soil. That unprecedented onslaught was itself a reprisal for an earlier strike in Syria widely blamed on Israel.

The escalating tit-for-tat between the arch-rivals has prompted global powers to urge caution and appeal on both sides to not allow frictions underlying the war in Gaza to unfurl into a wider conflict across the Middle East.

Here is what we know so far about the reported strike inside Iran:

What was hit?

Early Friday, Iran’s Fars news agency said “three explosions” were heard near the Shekari army airbase in the northwest of Isfahan province.

Iran’s space agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian said several drones had been shot down and there had been “no missile attack for now”.

An unnamed US official told CNN the target of the Israeli strike inside Iran was not nuclear.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency said the “nuclear facilities in Isfahan province are completely secure”.

Citing informed sources, Tasnim also denied Iran had been attacked from abroad.

Blasts were also reported in southern Syria, according to a local activist group.

How did Iran respond?

Air defence systems over several Iranian cities were activated, state media reported.

Flights to the cities of Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz were suspended, as were airports across several parts of the country, according to the Mehr news agency.

Flight-tracking software showed commercial flights avoiding western Iran, including Isfahan, and skirting Tehran to the north and east.

One flydubai plane that had already departed for Tehran had to return to Dubai after the Iranian capital’s airport was closed, the Emirati airline said in a statement.

On Friday morning, Iranian television carried a live feed of normal road traffic at a roundabout in Isfahan, while the official IRNA news agency said “no major damage” was reported after the explosions.

Why now?

Iran-backed armed groups across the region have carried out attacks on Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October.

Both Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestinian militant group Hamas are backed by Iran.

But the recent, and direct Israel-Iran exchanges have ventured into unprecedented territory.

In response to a deadly attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 widely blamed on Israel, Tehran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at its arch-foe.

Israel had vowed to respond to that onslaught launched on Saturday, which was mostly intercepted and caused no deaths.

Just hours before the explosions were heard inside Iran on Friday, the foreign minister warned that Israel would come to “regret” any attack on his country.

Speaking at the UN Security Council during a meeting on the Middle East on Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called the Islamic republic’s weekend barrage a “legitimate defence” and said Israel should “stop any further military adventurism”.

What has been the reaction?

Israel’s military told AFP on Friday that “we don’t have a comment at this time” when asked about reports of explosions and strikes in Iran and Syria.

There was no immediate comment from the White House or Pentagon.

Several US media outlets reported that Washington had received advanced notice of Israel’s strikes, but had not endorsed the operation or played any part in its execution.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jerusalem:

Israelis of Iranian heritage are torn between nostalgia for their country of origin and anger at its leaders following Tehran’s unprecedented attack on Israel last weekend. Many believe this is not the moment for Israel to retaliate.

“I hope we won’t have to attack Iran now, this is not the time. Let them worry a bit,” said Zion Hasid, president of the Central Organization of Iranian Immigrants, which says it represents 300,000 Iranian Jews.

In Jerusalem on Wednesday, he brought together his friends and members of the organisation’s administrative council for a meal ahead of Jewish Passover next week.

Many observers now think an Israeli response to Iran’s attack will come only after the religious holiday.

Hasid, a businessman with fond memories of Iran, said he has “felt bad” since Tehran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel on April 13.

The attack won Israel wide-ranging support from its Western allies as its ongoing assault in the Gaza Strip was meeting with rising disapproval, including from stalwart ally the United States.

Like others in Israel, Hasid worries a heavy-handed response could spark a violent backlash.

“I hope Israel will act wisely and with a cool head. That way, with God’s help, we will be able to win,” he said.

Iran — a key backer of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement and the Palestinian militant group Hamas — launched the attack in retaliation for an April 1 strike on its consulate in Damascus that was widely blamed on Israel.

Nearly all the Iranian missiles and drones were intercepted by Israel with help from the United States and other allies. Israel has vowed to respond, despite calls to prevent escalation in the Middle East.

‘Blessed’

Iran’s Jewish community was for a long time the largest in the Muslim world. Many of the country’s Jews have emigrated in search of a better life elsewhere.

After the 1979 Islamic revolution and the fall of the shah, others followed, although Jews were protected under the constitution. Many settled in the United States or Israel.

Hasid has been living in Israel since 1964. His business cards bear the Israeli and Iranian flags — the latter with the image of a lion in the centre, as before the revolution.

“If the shah was in power, this wouldn’t have happened. The current regime wants to show the world it runs the Middle East,” he said.

After its creation in 1948, Israel had close ties with Iran. But the 1979 revolution dramatically ended the friendship and they have moved from firm allies to sworn enemies.

Members of the Central Organization of Iranian Immigrants, who sometimes converse in Farsi, all speak with the same affection for their country of birth and the “blessed” times of the shah, when Iran-Israel relations were at their peak.

Hostages

Yehezkiel Yegana, 75, whose cousin was killed by Hamas fighters on October 7, said he often thinks of the Israeli captives the militants took to Gaza.

Israel estimates 129 of the 250 hostages remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

But Yegana has not forgotten what he called the “Jewish hostages in Iran” either.

Iran still has a Jewish community of between 8,000 and 10,000, who have a reserved seat in the Iranian parliament but complain of mistrust from the authorities in the face of the hostility between the two governments.

“The entire Iranian people has been taken hostage by an extremist group and will free itself from it one day,” he said.

Yegana said the question of an extended war between the two countries was “complex”.

“If we attack, that could provoke a conflict on several fronts,” he said. “If we don’t attack, we will be seen as weak.”

But Yegana believes the days of the Islamic republic are numbered.

“We’ve never been so close to the moment when we’ll be able to return to our country, to visit the cities and forests of our childhood,” he said.

 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Watch | Why is the Israel- Iran shadow war escalating?

| Video Credit:
Thamodaran B.

Even during the second world war, attacks on diplomatic missions were unheard of. According to the The 1961 Vienna Convention, embassy and consular premises should be protected even in times of war. But on April 1, Monday, an annex of Iran’s embassy in Damascus, the Syrian capital, came under air strikes.

At least 13 Iranians, including General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the Quds Force commander who was in charge of the Revolutionary Guards’ Syria operations, were killed in the attack.

There’s no price in guessing who is behind the attack. Iran immediately blames Israel. Israel neither confirms nor rejects that it’s carrying out air strikes in Syria. But it’s now an open secret. A few days earlier, Israel had attacked a weapons depot in northern Syria, killing at least 38 Syrian soldiers and half a dozen Hezbollah fighters. A day after the embassy attack, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said, “We are in a multi-front war, offensively and defensively. We are acting everywhere and every day to prevent the strengthening of our enemies.”

Editorial | Escalation ladder: On Israel’s offensive, and the danger ahead

The recent spell of the crisis began on October 7, when Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that has Iran’s backing, carried out a cross-border attack in Israel, killing at at least 1,200 people. Since then, Israel has carried out dozens of air strikes in Syria and Lebanon, besides its full-throttled invasion of the Strip, hitting Iranian, Syrian and Hezbollah targets.