Iran-Israel tensions continue.
The Israeli military said that the possibility of not responding to the latest Iranian attack is remote.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of EU member states held a video conference on the Iran-Israel agenda.
After the meeting, the European Union warned that sanctions against Iran would be expanded.
The Israeli military has said that the possibility of not responding to the latest Iranian attack is remote.
“We will act when and where we choose, and any promises regarding this are unnecessary,” Israeli army spokesman said in a statement.
Noting that Iran’s attack on Israel ‘failed’, Daniel Hagari stressed that the attack was thwarted thanks to the capabilities Israel has accumulated over the years in the defence industry.
The European Union will “start the necessary work” to hit Iran with heavier sanctions after Saturday’s aerial attack on Israel, the bloc’s top diplomat has said.
Speaking following an exceptional virtual meeting of EU foreign ministers on Tuesday, Josep Borrell said he would ask his services to study the possibility of expanding existing EU sanctions against Iranian drone technology.
It would see the current sanctions regime – established in July 2023 to punish Iran for aiding Putin’s war machine with unmanned drones – expanded to include missiles and to also cover Iran’s proxies in the region.
The bloc would also weigh the possibility of listing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation, he said, while stressing that such a move would be difficult since the military branch has not yet been associated with an act of terrorism in any of the EU’s member states.
Meanwhile the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his “urgent” demand for a de-escalation in the Middle East, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“The secretary general’s position is one he stated very clearly on Sunday in his call for maximum restraint. We do not want to see another cycle of eye for an eye, which is not a policy that will lead to peace,” spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference.
Dujarric said Guterres spoke on Monday to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and is in contact with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and other Israeli officials.
Guterres “called for the urgent de-escalation of the situation and a renewed focus on bringing peace to the Middle East,” added Dujarric.
Iran launched a barrage of drones and missiles against Israel on Saturday in an attack Tehran said was in response to an April 1 onslaught on its consulate in Syria, in which at least 13 people were killed, including seven military advisers.
Israel has vowed to respond to the Iranian attack.
The two countries are regional foes with decades of hostility and mutual accusations of conducting attacks.