After the attack on Iran's diplomatic premises on April 1, tensions between Iran and Israel have continued, even leading to tensions in the entire Middle East. Iran has vowed to retaliate "on the same scale and with the same severity," while U.S. and Israeli intelligence agents believe it is only a "matter of time" that could happen in the coming days.
According to Reuters on April 11, local time, citing Iranian sources, Iran has signaled to the United States that it will respond to Israel's attack on the building of Iranian diplomatic missions in Syria in a "manner aimed at avoiding a major escalation (of tensions)", and Tehran has put forward demands including a ceasefire in Gaza, so it "will not act in a hurry."
On April 11, Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said that if the UN Security Council condemned Israel's attack on the building of Iran's diplomatic mission in Syria and brought the perpetrators to justice, then Iran might not need to punish the Israeli regime. On the same day, the White House declined to comment on any information from Iran, but said it had informed Iran that the United States was not involved in the attack.
On April 10, local time, in Tehran, Iran, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presided over the Eid prayers. The picture is from The Paper
According to sources, Iran's message to the United States was conveyed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian during his visit to Oman on April 7 local time, and Oman, a Gulf Arab country, often acts as a "middleman" between Tehran and Washington. Iran, Oman and the White House did not respond to any comment.
A source familiar with U.S. intelligence said Iran's position was "very clear" that its response to the attack on its diplomatic compound in Syria would be "controlled" and "non-escalating" and that it planned to "use regional proxies to launch a series of attacks on Israel." An Iranian source did not rule out the possibility that the so-called "Axis of Resistance," backed by Iran, could attack Israel at any time.
During his visit to Oman, Abdollahian said Tehran was willing to reduce tensions on conditions that meet the requirements, including a "permanent ceasefire in Gaza" that Israel has already rejected, the sources said. At the same time, Iran seeks to resume negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue and also asks for assurances from the United States that the United States will not intervene if Iran carries out a "controlled attack" on Israel. However, it is reported that the United States rejected this request in a response transmitted through Oman.
A source familiar with U.S. diplomatic relations said Iran's retaliatory strikes against the U.S. "will not escalate" because they don't want the U.S. to get involved. Reuters argues that this suggests that Iran will not instruct its proxy militias in Syria and Iraq to target U.S. troops.
On April 11, local time, Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations posted on its social media account that if the United Nations Security Council condemns Israel's attack on the building of Iran's diplomatic mission in Syria and brings the perpetrators to justice, then Iran may not need to punish the Israeli regime. In the post, the Iranian side referred to the Israeli government as a "rogue regime."
On the same day, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. had informed Iran that it was not involved in the attack and warned Iran not to use the incident as a pretext to further escalate tensions in the region and not to attack U.S. facilities or personnel. "Obviously, we don't want this conflict to spread. ”
On April 4, local time, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended the funeral of the victims Source: Visual China
"Iran must respond, restore deterrence, and maintain credibility with its allies. But on the other hand, restoring deterrence through retaliation could lead to a larger, more devastating Israeli response, which is likely to be assisted by the United States. Gregory Brew, an analyst at the Eurasia Group, said.
Iranian sources said the U.S. demanded that Iran exercise restraint to allow room for diplomacy and warned Tehran that it would side with Israel in the event of a direct attack. Iran argues that the Netanyahu government's aim is to drag Iran into the war, so retaliation may be 'restrained to avoid direct attacks on Israeli territory) and may try to attract allies to join.'
On April 1, local time, the public relations department of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that Israel launched an airstrike on the consular office building of the Iranian Embassy in Syria on the same day, killing seven Iranian military personnel and six Syrian citizens, including Zahedi, the military adviser of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria and the senior commander of the "Quds Force".
Israel regularly attacks Iranian targets in Syria, but the attack on an Iranian embassy and consulate was the first of its kind, which Reuters called a "shocking escalation" of the Middle East conflict. The New York Times, citing Israeli officials, confirmed that the airstrikes were carried out by the Israeli military. An Israeli spokesman claimed that "there is no so-called embassy, which is an Iranian military facility disguised as a civilian building," but declined to confirm the attack.
After the attack, Iran vowed to retaliate "on the same scale and with severity." Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Ali Khamenei reiterated on April 10 that attacks on Iranian embassies and consulates amounted to attacks on Iranian territory, for which Israel would be punished.
On April 10, local time, U.S. President Joe Biden said at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that Iran threatened to launch a "major attack" on Israel, while the U.S. side has told Netanyahu that "we will remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting Israel's security against threats from Iran and its proxies."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on the same day that Israel is continuing to fight in Gaza, but is also preparing for the situation in other areas. "Whoever harms us, we will return an eye and a tooth for a tooth," Netanyahu said after inspecting Israel's southern air base, "We are ready to meet all the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensive and offensive."
The consulate building of the Iranian embassy in Syria has completely collapsed. Picture from Visual China
Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, said that the U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk has called the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iraq to ask them to convey a message to Iran, urging it to ease tensions.
At the same time, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom are urging Middle Eastern countries to exercise restraint for now. German Foreign Minister Baerbock sent a telegram to Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian on April 10, urging him to exercise "maximum restraint" and avoid further escalation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference on April 10: "Now, everyone must exercise restraint so as not to lead to complete instability in the region, which is not conducive to stability and predictability." "Prior to this, the Russian Foreign Ministry had warned citizens not to travel to the Middle East, especially Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian regions.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on the same day that he had made it clear to his Iranian counterpart that Iran should not drag the Middle East into a wider conflict. "I am deeply concerned about miscalculations that could lead to further violence [conflict]," he wrote on social media. ”
Regarding the Israeli air strike on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin recently pointed out that China condemns the attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria. The security of diplomatic institutions is inviolable, and Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity should be respected. At a time when the situation in the Middle East is volatile, we oppose any act that leads to an escalation of tensions.
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