16 April 2024 , 10:25
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Iran has given a chilling warning that it will respond in “seconds” using weapons it has “not used before” if Israel decides to strike back.
Officials in Tehran responded as Israel began weighing up a retaliation plan after Iran sent a volley of 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles across the Israel border on Saturday evening – as it claims Israel bombed its consulate building in Syria on April 1. Despite Israel, the US, Britain, France and Jordan intercepting up to 99% of the attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned his war cabinet on Monday, with an Israel Defense Fores (IDF) chief threatening that it will respond.
In what has drastically escalated from a war of words, Iran has said that it will retaliate immediately if Israel decides to return fire. Abolfazl Amoui, a spokesperson from Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said that Iran will not hold back and have plans for “all scenarios”. He told Al-Mayadeen News: “We will confront any Israeli aggression and respond to it.
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The Israeli war cabinet met for the fourth time in two days on Monday (Anadolu via Getty Images)“We are ready to use weapons that we have not used before. We have plans for all scenarios and we call on the Zionists to act rationally.”
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In a televised address on Monday evening, Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, shared a similar sentiment and said that Tehran will not delay its Israeli offensive if circumstances demanded. “They should know that they will not have a 12-day-long times pace,” he said. Instead, Kani warned that the speed of response from Iran “will be less than a few seconds”.
Israel’s war cabinet convened for the fourth time in the last two days on Monday afternoon, as Netanyahu, his defence minister Yoav Gallant and the former defence minister Benny Gantz discussed their next movements.
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The US said it will not back up Israel if it decides to strike back at Iran, despite Biden promising 'ironclad' commitment (Getty Images)The United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, raised concerns that Israel could target Iranian nuclear facilities. IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said Iran closed its nuclear facilities on Sunday over “security considerations,” as he urged for “extreme restraint”.
US President Joe Biden reassured of America’s “ironclad commitment” towards Israel’s defence, and a senior senior administration official told reporters that Israel has “freedom of action to protect itself and defend itself”. He did, however, add a caveat: “We would not envision ourselves participating in such a thing.”
As fears swirl that Biden is on the verge of “sleepwalking” America into another war in the Middle East, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby also relayed that the US is desperate to stay out of conflicts with Iran.
“We respect that that’s a decision the war cabinet, the prime minister, have to make. We know that they live in a very tough neighbourhood,” he told CNN on Monday. “We don’t seek to widen and broaden this conflict. We don’t want to see things escalate.”