The threats from Iran, which hitherto loomed over Israel, are becoming real. On Saturday April 13, Tehran congratulated itself on having seized a container ship “linked” to Israel, near the Strait of Hormuz. The Jewish state calls on the European Union to condemn Iran’s actions.
Fears of an escalation of tensions in the Middle East are confirmed this Saturday, April 13. Thursday, theIran threatened to attack Israel in retaliation for a deadly strike carried out by the Jewish state in early April against the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. The attack left sixteen people dead, including seven members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. This morning, through its spokesperson Daniel Hagari, the Israeli army warned Iran, promising that the country “will suffer the consequences of its choice to further aggravate the situation”, reports BFMTV. “We have strengthened our preparation to protect Israel from further Iranian aggression. We are also ready to respond,” he added.
“Total panic”
However, the declaration did not stop Tehran, which announced this Saturday that it had seized a container ship “linked” to Israel near the Strait of Hormuz, in the Red Sea. According to the shipowner MSC, twenty-five crew members are on board.
One of Ayatollah Ali Khammenei’s advisors, Yahya Rahim Safavi, welcomed the “total panic” which has gripped Israel in recent days, putting a halt to military operations in Palestine, which has benefited from Iranian support since start of the conflict. “The Zionists have been in total panic and on alert for a week,” declared Yahya Rahim Safavi, who specified that “they stopped the military attack on Rafah”, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Israel calls theEuropean Union to condemn Iran’s actions. On Friday, France invited its nationals to “absolutely refrain” from traveling to Iran, Israel, Lebanon and Palestine. Paris also requested the “return of the families of diplomatic agents from Tehran”, indicates The world, adding that the German airline Lufthansa is extending the suspension of its flights to and from Tehran, due to these tensions. THE UNITED STATESwho had “warned Iran” and affirmed their “unwavering” support for Israel, sent the US Army general in charge of the Middle East, Michael Erik Kurilla, to Tel Aviv, to discuss with the leaders military of the country of “security threats in the region”.
Requests for de-escalation
According to the media Axios, the head of United States Central Command (Centcom) in charge of operations in the Middle East, General Erik Kurilla, went to Israel on Thursday, April 11 to take stock of the situation with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and define the response to a possible Iranian offensive against Israel. Faced with an attack that would be unprecedented, demands for de-escalation are intensifying. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Qatar have reportedly spoken on the phone with their Iranian counterpart to calm tensions in the region.
According to Bloomberg, faced with this possible scenario, “Israel’s Western allies have been informed that Israeli government and military installations could be targeted, but that civilian installations should not be.” Emergency plans are being developed. Israel reportedly expects “this attack to take place before launching a new ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah.”
US support for Israel
Information confirmed by Joe Biden himself, who declared during a joint press conference at the White House that Iran “threatens to launch a significant attack against Israel”. The American president thus reaffirmed his support for Israel. “As I told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security, in the face of these threats from Iran and its allies, is unwavering. […] We will do everything we can to protect Israel’s security,” he said. In a sign of the high tensions in the region, the German airline Lufthansa has suspended its flights to Tehran “because of the current situation in Middle East”.