Israel has vowed retaliation but has been urged to exercise restraint but has yet to agree on a response to Iran’s massive drone and missile attacks on its territory on Saturday.
Israel’s five-member war cabinet, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, met on Monday and ended without commenting on whether the Jewish state would live up to its promise to “charge the exact price” to Tehran or acknowledge the caution taken by international leaders Respond to the call.
The lengthy deliberations came after the Israeli military said Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles into its territory on Saturday. It claims that it and its international allies neutralized 99% of such attacks as part of what is now known as Operation Iron Shield.
The United States, Britain, France and Jordan assist in intercepting these threats. Tehran said the attack was in response to an Israeli attack on April 1 that killed several senior commanders at the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria – an attack that Israel has not claimed responsibility for.
Iran said Saturday’s hostilities had “ended” its retaliatory actions and that Israel now needed to consider its next steps.
Reuters reports that Israel’s war cabinet is scheduled to meet again on Tuesday. The prime minister’s office and the foreign ministry did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting on Monday, israeli official According to NBC News, the country’s policymakers believe it is important to keep a close eye on any potential response to the attacks, and that such a posture would be coordinated with Washington.
There are growing concerns that the conflict – stemming from the October 7 terror attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza – will spill over into the wider Middle East. Since October, Israel has been at war with a range of other Iran-backed factions, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government.
Global markets were also rattled by the hostilities. Oil prices were boosted by potential disruption from heavyweight crude producer Iran, while international maritime trade faced delays and pauses due to attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
Julian Barnes-Darcy, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Parliament, said: “Some in the war cabinet will now push for a wider operation in Lebanon, against Hezbollah and against Iran itself, to take advantage of this moment. “The Council on Foreign Relations said on CNBC’s “European Roadmap” program on Tuesday.
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Netanyahu, who has previously battled fraud and corruption charges and civil protests over his proposed judicial reforms, faces domestic pressure to take a tougher stance on Iran, as well as international pressure to step down.
In a social media post from Google TranslateIsraeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he was mobilizing a “diplomatic offensive” against Iran, noting that he had sent a letter to 32 world figures “calling for sanctions on Iran’s missile program and for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to declare Terrorist organization.
The Israeli military also expressed its readiness to respond: “Iran will face the consequences of its actions. We will choose our response accordingly,” IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said in a video address Monday night..
However, four U.S. officials said potential Israeli retaliation could be limited to strikes against Iranian forces and Iranian-backed proxies in Iran. told NBC Newsthree sources added that Washington did not intend to participate in such an offensive.
CNBC could not independently verify the reports.
“All that is left of ‘Mr. Security’ is the ruins from Bari to the village of Shimona, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said of Netanyahu, and Israel has completely lost its deterrence force. on social media, according to Google Translate. “It’s election time.”
But former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told CNBC’s Dan Murphy that Saturday’s attack caused no casualties and caused limited damage, meaning Israel may now ” To act in a quieter, more restrained and more conservative manner and somehow stop direct attacks “. Confrontation with Iran. “
He acknowledged that Netanyahu is under pressure from right-wing groups within the cabinet who are demanding very “harsh and painful revenge,” but stressed that “attacking Iran now would be a mistake. We defeated Iran on Saturday night.”
He added, “(U.S. President Joe) Biden wants to contain the situation, not let it expand, and we are all in agreement with President Biden.”
The U.S. leader, who has previously vowed an “ironclad” commitment to Israel, has told Netanyahu that the White House will not join an offensive against Iran, a senior administration official told NBC News.
World leaders across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East have widely called for calm, with Saudi Arabia – a former enemy of Iran that has since reconciled – urging “maximum restraint”.
Correction: This article has been updated to correct a reference to possible retaliation claims.
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