Iran launches drones, fires missiles toward Israel; Japan condemns attacks; ‘US will not support an Israeli counterattack’_ Biden tells Netanyahu
Iran’s state-run television has reported that Iranian Revolutionary Guards had sent multiple drones firing missiles towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
And corroborating, the Israeli military announced shortly after 11 p.m. on Saturday, local time that Iran had sent multiple drones from its territory toward Israel.
This is believed to be in retaliation for the killing of a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in an attack earlier this month on the Iranian embassy in Syria. That attack is believed to have been carried out by Israel.
They say the launch was in retaliation for the April 1 killing of a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in that apparent Israeli attack on Iran’s embassy in Syria.
Earlier on Saturday, Iran’s state-run news agency reported that the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps had seized ships related to Israel near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has not issued an official statement though on the seizure of the vessels.
But Japan’s Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko has denounced Iran’s drone and missile attacks against Israel.
In a statement released on Sunday, Kamikawa said Japan believes the attacks have further aggravated the situation in the Middle East. She expressed the Japanese government’s deep concerns and strong condemnation.
Kamikawa said the peace and stability of the Middle East region is extremely important for Japan as well, adding that Japan will urge the parties involved to work to de-escalate the situation.
The foreign minister said the government will do all it can to protect Japanese nationals in the affected areas. She added that Japan is also determined to make the necessary diplomatic efforts to prevent the situation from further deteriorating.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States will not support any Israeli counterattack against Iran.
US news website Axios quoted a senior White House official as saying that Biden told Netanyahu during a call on Saturday that the joint defensive efforts by Israel, the US and other countries in the region led to the failure of the Iranian attack. Biden also reportedly said: “You got a win. Take the win.”
The report added, quoting the official, that Netanyahu said he understood when Biden told him the US will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran and will not support such operations.
An Iranian diplomat says the country’s response to what it calls the Zionist regime’s aggression against its diplomatic premises in Damascus “can be deemed concluded”.
Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations released the statement following the country’s air attack on Israel in the late hours of Saturday.
The statement also attempts to keep Israel in check, saying that “should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe.”
