The fear of regional conflagration is ever higher. This Sunday at the UN, Iran claimed to have “had no choice but to exercise its right to self-defense” by launching hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel. This unprecedented attack, called “Honest Promise”, was launched on the night of Saturday to Sunday, in response to a strike attributed to Israel against the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1.
Israel claimed to have “foiled” the nighttime operation by shooting down, with the help of the United States, the United Kingdom, France and other countries, 99% of the more than 350 projectiles - drones, ballistic missiles and missiles. cruise ship - which was heading towards its territory. “Iran's unprecedented attack was countered by an unprecedented defense,” said Israeli army spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
Iran, for its part, said it had “achieved all its objectives”. The Iranian agency Irna reported “serious damage in the most important air base in the Negev”, in southern Israel. Only a few ballistic missiles “entered and lightly hit” a military base, which remains active, said Admiral Hagari, reporting several minor injuries as well as a 7-year-old girl placed in intensive care.
Alongside this attack, Tehran's allies, the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthi rebels, fired rockets and drones towards Israeli territory.
“The Middle East is on the brink of the precipice”
The UN "failed in its duty to maintain international peace and security" by failing to condemn the April 1 strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani said during a a Security Council convened urgently on Sunday evening.
“Under these conditions, the Islamic Republic of Iran had no choice but to exercise its right to self-defense,” he said. He assured that Tehran did not want an escalation, but would respond to “any threat or aggression”.
The Israeli ambassador, Gilad Erdan, for his part called on the Security Council to “impose all possible sanctions against Iran before it is too late”. Speaking at the Security Council, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that "the Middle East is on the brink of a precipice." He condemned both the Iranian attack and the strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, emphasizing the "principle of inviolability" of diplomatic establishments.
This strike cost the lives of seven members of the Revolutionary Guards, Iran's ideological army. Tehran accused Israel, which neither confirmed nor denied.
Iran launched this attack more than six months after the start of the offensive led by Israel in the Gaza Strip against Palestinian Hamas, an ally of the Islamic Republic, which further increased tensions between the two countries. Israel has been the sworn enemy of Iran since the 1979 Iranian revolution, which calls for its destruction.
But until now, Tehran had refrained from attacking Israel head-on, and the two countries were used to confronting each other through third parties, such as Hezbollah.
Several analysts consider a response from Israel almost inevitable. However, before retaliating, “it is not only a question of consulting, but of obtaining approval from Washington,” assured Tamir Hayman, former head of Israeli military intelligence.
Iran, for its part, seems to have wanted to avoid an escalation, underlined Nick Heras, analyst at the American research group New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy. This attack “was intended to be seen around the world, but not to degenerate the situation into an all-out regional war,” he told AFP.