Response to Iran’s attack: Israel war cabinet weighing options

Israel yesterday faced pressure from allies to show restraint and avoid an escalation of conflict in the Middle East as it considered how to respond to Iran's weekend missile and drone attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned his war cabinet for the second time in less than 24 hours, a government source said. Two senior officials signalled on Sunday that retaliation was not imminent and Israel would not act alone but the results of yesterday's talks were not yet known.

Israel's military chief of staff said the country would respond to the Iranian attack.

"This launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles, and drones into Israeli territory will be met with a response," Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said, speaking from the Nevatim air force base in southern Israel, which sustained some damage in the attack.

Israel's Channel 12 news reported that Israel's war cabinet discussed a range of options at the second meeting to hurt Iran for its attack on Israel but without causing an all-out war.

Iran's attack - made in retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus - has increased fears of open warfare between Israel and Iran and heightened concerns that violence rooted in the Gaza war is spreading further in the region.

Wary of the dangers, President Joe Biden has told Netanyahu the United States will not take part in any Israeli counter-offensive against Iran.

In his 25-minute call to Netanyahu on Sunday, Biden suggested that further response by Israel was "unnecessary".

Since the start of Israel's war in Gaza on Oct 7, clashes have erupted between Israel and Iran-aligned groups in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Israel said four of its soldiers were wounded hundreds of metres inside Lebanese territory overnight.

"We're on the edge of the cliff and we have to move away from it," Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign affairs chief, told Spanish radio station Onda Cero. "We have to step on the brakes and reverse gear."

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron made similar appeals. Washington and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have also issued calls for restraint.

Countries including France, Belgium and Germany summoned the Iranian ambassadors. The French foreign ministry said France was working with its partners to de-escalate the situation.

Russia has refrained from criticising its ally Iran in public over the strikes but expressed concern about the risk of escalation on Monday and also called for restraint.

"Further escalation is in no one's interests," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Iran mounted the attack in response to a suspected Israeli airstrike on its embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers, including two senior commanders.

Its attack, involving more than 300 missiles and drones, caused only modest damage in Israel and no deaths. Most were shot down by Israel's Iron Dome defence system and with help from the US, Britain, France and Jordan.

In Washington, Biden reiterated US commitment to Israel's security ahead of a meeting with Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Group of Seven major democracies were working on a package of coordinated measures against Iran.

"I spoke to my fellow G7 leaders, we are united in our condemnation of this attack," Sunak said in parliament.

Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7, said it was open to new sanctions against individuals engaged against Israel.

In an interview with Reuters, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said new sanctions would need the backing of all the G7. He suggested any new measures would be focused on individuals rather than whole nations.

Asian shares fell and gold prices rose yesterday as risk sentiment took a hit. But oil prices dipped and Israel's shekel rose against the dollar after the comments by two senior Israeli officials - Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and centrist minister Benny Gantz - suggesting an Israeli response was not imminent.

Iran's attack has caused travel disruption, with at least a dozen airlines cancelling or rerouting flights, and Europe's aviation regulator reaffirming advice to airlines to use caution in Israeli and Iranian airspace.

Israel remained on high alert, but authorities lifted some emergency measures that had included a ban on some school activities and caps on large gatherings.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Tehran had informed the United States that the attack on Israel would be limited and for self-defence, and that regional neighbours had been informed of the planned strikes 72 hours in advance.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby yesterday told reporters that the United States did exchange messages with Iran but that there were never any messages regarding Iran's timeframe or targets for its weekend attack.

Kirby would not be drawn into explaining what the messages were about. He said that reports suggesting Iran tipped off the United States about its plans were "categorically false" and "malarkey."

Turkish, Jordanian and Iraqi officials said on Sunday that Iran gave wide notice days before its drone and missile attack on Israel.

In the first-ever attack against Israeli territory, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel.

The attack included 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles, none of which entered Israeli territory, and at least 110 ballistic missiles, of which a small number reached Israel, military spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.

At least nine countries were involved in the military escalation - with projectiles fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and downed by Israel, the US, the UK and Jordan.

The shortest distance from Iran to Israel is about 1,000km (620 miles) across Iraq, Syria and Jordan.

Since most of the projectiles came from relatively far away, Israel was able to send F-35 stealth fighters to intercept them. The IDF said that 25 of the 30 cruise missiles sent by Iran were shot down outside the country.

Two US officials told the BBC's US partner CBS news that five ballistic missiles evaded air defences and impacted Israeli territory.

Four of them "lightly hit" the Nevatim air force base in the Negev desert in southern Israel, said Israeli sources.

Of the 120 ballistic missiles fired by Iran, about half of them failed on launch or crashed mid-flight, one of the officials told CBS.

Experts said Israel may use this attack as an excuse to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities. They also said Netanyahu has an incentive to keep hostilities going, as it fends off the collapse of his razor-thin coalition and new elections.

The attack has also for now distracted global attention from Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza. Furthermore, the Iranian attack is also likely to dispel murmurs in the US Congress about curbing weapons supplies to Israel because of Gaza, they said.