The Israeli army promised Monday “a response” to the massive and unprecedented attack launched by Iran, despite calls from many countries, led by the United States, to avoid a conflagration in the Middle East, where war rages in the Gaza Strip.
Information to remember
⇒ Iran closed its nuclear facilities on Sunday
⇒ The Israeli army promised “a response”
⇒ Biden wants to avoid escalation
Iran closed its nuclear facilities on Sunday
Iran closed its nuclear facilities on Sunday, the day of its attack on Israel, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said on Monday. During a press conference on the sidelines of a meeting of the UN Security Council devoted to the Ukrainian Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Rafael Grossi was asked about the possibility of an Israeli retaliatory strike against Iranian nuclear installations. “We are still concerned about this possibility,” replied the IAEA chief.
“What I can tell you is that our inspectors in Iran were informed by the Iranian government that yesterday (Sunday, Editor’s note), all the nuclear facilities that we inspect every day would remain closed for security reasons,” he added. According to him, the Iranian facilities were to reopen on Monday. “I have decided not to let the inspectors return until the situation is completely calm. We will resume tomorrow” (Tuesday, Editor’s note), he explained. This closure “has not had an impact on our inspection activities. But of course, we always call for the greatest restraint,” he continued.
The head of Chinese diplomacy spoke with his Iranian counterpart
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke on the telephone with his Iranian counterpart, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday, specifying that Tehran had once again expressed its “desire for restraint” after its unprecedented attack on Israeli territory. According to New China, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian informed Wang Yi of the Iranian position regarding the bombing, attributed to Israel, of an annex of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria.
Still according to the Chinese agency, the Iranian diplomat estimated that the United Nations Security Council “did not provide the necessary response to this attack” and that “Iran has the right to self-defense in response to the violation of its sovereignty.
The Israeli army promised “a response” on Monday
The Israeli army promised Monday “a response” to the massive and unprecedented attack launched by Iran, despite calls from many countries, led by the United States, to avoid a conflagration in the Middle East, where war rages in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the international community to “remain united” in the face of “Iranian aggression, which threatens world peace”, after this attack was foiled with the support of several of its allies, including Washington. Israel will “retaliate against the launching of so many missiles, cruise missiles and drones on the territory of the State of Israel”, declared the army chief of staff, General Herzi Halevi, while visiting the Nevatim base, in the south of the country.
Biden wants to avoid escalation
American President Joe Biden, Israel’s most powerful ally, assured Monday that he wanted to avoid an escalation. “Together, with our partners, we defeated this Iranian attack,” he said, while saying he was working “for a ceasefire” in Gaza, “which will bring the hostages home and will prevent the conflict from spreading further than it already has.
Raids in the Gaza Strip
In the Gaza Strip, dozens of Israeli raids struck the Khan Younes sector in the south before dawn on Monday, where 18 bodies were recovered from under the rubble, according to Civil Defense. Benjamin Netanyahu maintains his plan for a land offensive against the neighboring town of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, which he presents as the last major bastion of Hamas and where, according to the army, hostages are being held.
And this despite warnings from the international community, which fears a bloodbath in this city which has become a refuge for a million and a half Palestinians, most of them displaced.