NEW YORK: The Israeli military said it is planning a ‘serious and significant” response to Iran’s Tuesday night ballistic missile attack, as United Nations (UN) officials feverishly worked behind the scenes to avert a wider war in the Middle East.”
But diplomats said that the UN efforts were unlikely to succeed as US-backed Israel has defied all of the world body’s decisions and resolutions, and even banned its Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a respected international mediator, from entering the country.
The Israeli military has said that Iran’s attack of some 200 ballistic missiles on Israel would “have consequences.”
Though the military has said that no aircraft or critical infrastructure was hit, and the Israeli Air Force was operating at full capacity
On Wednesday, Israel’s Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said that Israel would respond to the missile attack, vowing that the military could “reach and strike any point in the Middle East.”
The military plans will need to be approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, he said.
At a security cabinet meeting in a secure bunker near Jerusalem in the aftermath of the attack, Netanyahu, according to reports, warned that Tehran had made a “big mistake tonight” and vowed that “it will pay for it.”
The comments on Saturday from the Israeli military came as the US has sought to dissuade Israel from hitting Iranian nuclear or oil infrastructure as part of the response.
US President Joe Biden on Friday said Israel has not yet decided how it’s going to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile assault, but suggested it should refrain from attacking Iranian oil facilities.
“If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields,” Biden said during a rare appearance at the White House daily press briefing.
Earlier this week, Biden said he opposed Israel targeting Iranian nuclear sites as well.
Biden’s latest remarks came a day after he said the idea of an Israeli strike on Iranian oil sites was “in discussion,” causing oil prices to shoot up amid fears of a sudden shock to the global supply.
However, on Saturday, Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said that he was “not worried” about the escalating conflict in the region amid reports that Israel would strike Iran.
Paknejad’s comments were made during a visit to Assaluyeh, the energy capital of Iran.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also indicated that Iran was looking to de-escalate the situation, renewing a call for ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon as he held talks with his country’s Syrian ally.
“The most important issue today is the ceasefire, especially in Lebanon and in Gaza,” he told reporters. “There are initiatives in this regard, there have been consultations that we hope will be successful.”
Araghchi’s visit to Damascus, his first since he took office in August, comes ahead of Oct 7 first anniversary of Israeli war in Gaza.
Last month, Israel sharply intensified its campaign against Hezbollah as it vowed to push its fighters away from the border.
“The purpose of my trip to Damascus is to continue consultations regarding the developments in the region,” Araghchi said.
His meetings in the Syrian capital follow a visit to Beirut Friday during which he voiced support for a truce in Lebanon acceptable to Hezbollah “simultaneously with a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Meanwhile, in his first public Friday sermon in nearly five years, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke in Arabic to discuss fighting against Israel by Lebanon’s fighter group Hezbollah and Palestine’s Hamas group.
“The resistance in the region will not back down with these martyrdoms, and will win,” Khamenei told the crowd at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque, where supporters carried portraits of slain Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.
“Israel will never defeat Hamas and Hezbollah,” he declared.
Araghchi travelled to Damascus by air after Lebanon said an Israeli air strike on Friday severed the main international highway linking the two countries.