Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
Meanwhile, an apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defenses near the central city of Isfahan. It came days after Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on Israel.
Israel also carried out a missile strike on an air defense unit in southern Syria, causing material damage, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said, citing a military statement.
Israel had vowed to respond to Iran’s weekend attack.
Regional tensions have increased since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad — two militant groups backed by Iran — carried out a cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,900 people, according to local health officials.
Currently:
— Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
— Israel gave U.S. last-minute warning about drone attack on Iran, Italian foreign minister says
— Ukraine, Israel aid advances in rare House vote as Democrats help Republicans push it forward
— S&P becomes second major U.S. agency to downgrade Israel’s long-term credit rating
— U.S. vetoes a widely supported resolution backing full U.N. membership for Palestine.
Here is the latest:
STRIKE ON IRAN APPEARS TO SHOW ISRAEL DOESN’T SEEK ESCALATION, THINK TANK SAYS
The reported strikes Friday near an Iranian air base and Iran-backed targets in Syria and Iraq appear to show a limited response to Iran’s attack on Israel last weekend, according to a pro-Israel think tank based in Washington.
The apparent Israeli drone attack near a major air base and a nuclear site around the central Iranian city of Isfahan activated the country’s air defenses, just days after Tehran launched a drone and missile assault on Israel.
No Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility that Israel had attacked, and the Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.
But analysts said the relatively limited scope of the Israeli attack and subdued response by Tehran seem to indicate the threat of an immediate escalation had diminished.
The pro-Israel Jewish Institute for National Security of America, based in Washington, said that in addition to showing that Israel doesn’t appear to want to escalate tensions, the strikes seem intended to signal that Iran can’t attack Israel with impunity.
“Since Isfahan lies in the center of Iran and hosts both a military base and a nuclear site, the Israeli strike also demonstrated Israel’s ability to penetrate Iranian air defenses and reach key Iranian assets, should it decide to launch a larger strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities,” the group said in a statement.
PARIS POLICE FIND NO WEAPONS ON MAN DETAINED AT IRAN’S CONSULATE
Police said Friday that they found no weapons on a man detained at the Iranian consulate in Paris after responding to a report of a suspicious man possibly carrying a grenade and an explosives vest.
A Paris police official told The Associated Press that officers were verifying the man’s identity, but said no such weapons were found on him or in his vehicle. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t allowed to be publicly named under police policy.
Some of the police, special agents and firefighters that responded to the incident at the consulate were later seen leaving the scene after the arrest. A police cordon remained in place, but traffic was resuming in the area.
The official said the man was spotted around late Friday morning and that police launched a special operation as soon as they were alerted.
The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East, and as Paris is gearing up to host the summer Olympics.
— By Angela Charlton
IAEA CHIEF SAYS NO DAMAGE AT ISFAHAN NUCLEAR FACILITY
BERLIN — The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog says there was no damage at the Isfahan nuclear facility after an apparent Israeli drone attack on a major air base near the Iranian city.
When asked about the nuclear facility on Sky News, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said “there hasn’t been any damage at the site or anything that would indicate that (there) were hits nearby or something that could lead you to believe that there was an intention to reach these places.”
The facility at Isfahan operates three small Chinese-supplied research reactors, as well as handling fuel production and other activities for Iran’s civilian nuclear program.
Isfahan also is home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site, which has been repeatedly targeted by suspected Israeli sabotage attacks.
Iranian authorities have said that air defenses fired at a major air base in Isfahan, which long has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iranian worshippers walk past a mural showing the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, right, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, and Basij paramilitary force, as they hold posters of Ayatollah Khomeini and Iranian and Palestinian flags in an anti-Israeli gathering after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
MISSILE REMNANTS FOUND SOUTHWEST OF BAGHDAD
BAGHDAD — Remnants of a missile were found Friday near Latifiya, southwest of Baghdad.
An official with an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to journalists, said the missile had been shot down as a result of jamming operations. The Iraqi army doesn’t have jamming devices of the type apparently used to down the missile, but Iran has provided such devices to its affiliated militias.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the missile was part of an Israeli attack on Iran or part of last weekend’s Iranian attack on Israel. In photographs from the scene published by local media, it appeared to be a air-to-surface missile. There were no reports of Iran using air-to-surface missiles in Saturday’s barrage, which included more than 300 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
Tehran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike in Syria on April 1 that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building.
— By Qassim Abdul-Zahra.
ISRAEL’S LONG-TERM CREDIT RATING DOWNGRADED BY S&P
Israel’s long-term credit rating is being downgraded by S&P, which cited the risk of military escalation with Iran. It is the second major U.S. credit ratings agency to do so.
There was an apparent drone attack at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan early Friday, which is suspected of being part of an Israeli retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country days ago.
S&P’s downgrade was issued shortly before the strike in Iran and almost three months after Moody’s, another major U.S. credit agency, downgraded Israel’s rating due to the “ongoing military conflict with Hamas.”
S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Israel to ‘A+’ from ‘AA-’ and the short-term ratings to ‘A-1’ from ‘A-1+.’
TURKEY’S LEADER SAYS STATEMENTS BY IRAN AND ISRAEL ‘ILLOGICAL’
ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that statements issued by Iran and Israel after an apparent drone attack on Friday in Iran are “illogical.”
Erdogan also criticized the U.S. for continuing to support Israel in the U.N. Security Council as tensions escalate between Israel and Iran.
People visit the Mount of Olives overlooking the Dome of the Rock at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, Friday, April 19, 2024. Tensions have been high since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Erdogan told journalists that neither Iran nor Israel is taking “ownership” of the situation.
“Currently Israel is saying different things. Iran puts forward different views. There is no ownership (of the situation). There is not one statement that isn’t illogical,” he said.
Erdogan, who is highly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, accused the U.S. of making conflicting statements about having prior knowledge of the drone strikes and said that he wasn’t surprised by the reiteration of support for Israel by the U.S. at the U.N. Security Council.
“While everyone is on the side of Palestine, unfortunately America puts forward their stance again by standing by the side of Israel.,” he said. “We didn’t expect anything different anyway.”
Erdogan also reiterated that he would host Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday. When asked what would be on their agenda, Erdogan refused to give details.
BLINKEN SAYS U.S. NOT INVOLVED IN ANY ‘OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS’
CAPRI, Italy — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday the United States was not involved in any “offensive operations” in the apparent Israeli drone attack in Iran, but declined to respond to claims that Israel gave the U.S. advance notice of the action.
“I’m not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations,” Blinken said.
Asked to describe the current U.S.-Israel relationship, Blinken noted that Israel makes its own decisions, but the United States is committed to its security.
“We are committed to helping Israel defend itself and as necessary participating in its defense, as you saw just a few days ago,” Blinken said. “Again, Israel makes its decisions, but we have a commitment to defending it.
“And you saw an unprecedented attack from Iran, and Israel and the United States and others worked with Israel to make sure that that attack would not have devastating consequences. And thankfully, it did not.”
RUSSIA INFORMS ISRAEL THAT IRAN ISN’T SEEKING TO ESCALATE THE CONFLICT
MOSCOW — Russian authorities have informed Israel that Iran isn’t seeking to escalate the conflict, Russia’s top diplomat said in an interview broadcast live on Friday.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told several Russian radio stations that Russia’s leadership was in contact with their counterparts in Iran, and Russian officials were also in touch with the Israelis.
“We very clearly outlined in these conversations and conveyed to the Israelis that Iran does not want escalation,” Lavrov said after news broke of an apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran.
Iran couldn’t “not respond to a gross violation of international law and status of a diplomatic mission, but it doesn’t want escalation,” the official added.
ISRAEL GAVE U.S. LAST-MINUTE WARNING ABOUT DRONE ATTACK ON IRAN, ITALY’S FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS
CAPRI, Italy — The United States told the Group of Seven foreign ministers on Friday that it received “last minute” information from Israel about a drone action in Iran, Italy’s foreign minister said.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the United States provided the information at a Friday morning session that was changed at the last minute to address the apparent attack. Tajani said the U.S. informed the G7 ministers that it had been “informed at the last minute” by Israel about the drones. “But there was no sharing of the attack by the U.S. It was a mere information.”
He said Italians living in Iran were all accounted for and “without problems.”
GERMAN LEADER SAYS EVERYONE MUST ENSURE NO FURTHER ESCALATION
BERLIN – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is calling on all in the Middle East to ensure that there is no further escalation in the region, but he and his government are saying little about events in Iran overnight.
Scholz noted at an event on the North Sea island of Norderney Friday that there were reports of more “military activity” during the night.
He said: “I can’t and don’t want to say more about it than that for us, a very clear principle goes for all – everyone must now and in the near future ensure that there is no further escalation of the war.”
Scholz said that Germany will talk with “all our friends and allies” about de-escalation.
Asked about reports of an Israeli attack, Scholz’s spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, said in Berlin that he can’t contribute “anything of my own” to information on what happened.
G7 FOREIGN MINISTERS WARN OF NEW SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN
CAPRI, Italy — Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who chaired the meeting of ministers of industrialized countries, said the agenda of the three-day meeting was changed on Friday to address the latest developments.
Early Friday, Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones. They were apparently part of an Israeli attack in retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country last weekend.
Tajani didn’t immediately address the incident, but said that G7 ministers condemned Iran’s weekend attack on Israel and urged both sides to exercise restraint.
“The political objective is de-escalation,” Tajani said in a closing news conference.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION HEAD BESEECHES IRAN AND ISRAEL TO TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Israel and Iran to refrain from further actions, saying “it is absolutely necessary that the region stays stable.”
“We have to do all, everything possible that all sides of this time from the escalation in that region,” von der Leyen said Friday in Finland in reply to a question on the recent strikes by the two countries on each other.
Von der Leyen was on a visit to part of Finland’s 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) land border with Russia — one of the EU’s longest external borders — with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to see the migration that Helsinki is facing from Moscow.
CHINA IS OPPOSED TO ANY ACTIONS THAT FURTHER RAISE TENSIONS IN THE MIDEAST, FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS
BEIJING — China is opposed to any actions that further raise tensions in the Middle East, its Foreign Ministry said Friday after an apparent Israeli attack on Iran.
Asked about Israel, Iran and rising tensions in the Middle East, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the reports had been noted.
“We oppose any actions that lead to the escalation of tensions,” Lin told reporters at a daily briefing Friday. “China opposes any actions that lead to the escalation of tensions and will continue to play a constructive role in easing the tensions.”
BRITAIN CAUTIONS AGAINST ESCALATION AS IT INVESTIGATES REPORTED ISRAELI STRIKE ON IRAN
LONDON — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cautioned Friday against escalation in the Middle East, saying Britain was working to confirm the details around a reported Israeli strike inside Iran.
“We have condemned Iran’s reckless and dangerous barrage of missiles against Israel … and Israel absolutely has the right to self defense,” he said. “But as I said to Prime Minister Netanyahu when I spoke to him last week, and more generally, significant escalation is not in anyone’s interest. What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region.”
ISRAELI STRIKE TARGETS AIR DEFENSE UNIT IN SYRIA, STATE NEWS AGENCY SAYS
BEIRUT — Israel carried out a missile strike targeting an air defense unit in its south and causing material damage, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency quoted a military statement as saying Friday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strike hit a military radar for government forces. It was not clear if there were casualties, the Observatory said.
The Observatory’s chief Rami Abdurrahman said six Israeli fighter jets entered Syria’s airspace and were flying east when they were spotted by the radar. He added that the fighters jets were flying east.
The warplanes were seen around the time loud noises and drones were reported near a major Iranian air base and nuclear site early Friday. That area of Syria is directly west of Isfahan, some 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away, and east of Israel.
Iranian state television described all atomic sites in the Isfahan area as “fully safe.” The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, also said “there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites” after the commotion.
IRAN FIRES AIR DEFENSE BATTERIES AFTER APPARENT EXPLOSIONS ARE HEARD NEAR MAJOR AIR BASE
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran fired air defense batteries early Friday morning at a major air base and a nuclear site near its central city of Isfahan over drones being spotted, raising fears of a possible Israeli retaliatory strike following Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
Iran then grounded commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions. Loudspeakers informed customers of the incident at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, online videos purported to show. Iran later restored normal flight service, authorities said.
Air defenses fired in several provinces over reports of drones being in the air, state television reported. However, Iranian state-run media sought to immediately downplay the incident, airing footage of an otherwise-peaceful Isfahan morning.
The facility at Isfahan operates three small Chinese-supplied research reactors, as well as handles fuel production and other activities for Iran’s civilian nuclear program.
Abhinav Thawait is a globe-trotting correspondent with a passion for international affairs. With a background in international relations, he offers a global perspective on the most pressing issues around the world. Abhinav’s curiosity takes his to the far corners of the earth, where he seeks to share untold stories and diverse viewpoints.
