The world is worried about a new war in the Middle East. Is Israel responding to Iran's attack despite warnings? And if so, when? The news at a glance.
Brussels/Tel Aviv - While Israel's closest allies are urging Israel to refrain from a harsh counter-reaction after the major Iranian attack, the Jewish state reserves its own decision on how to proceed.
The US government does not expect a possible Israeli counterattack on Iran before the end of the month, according to a report on ABC. An unnamed senior U.S. government official told ABC that a counterstrike was previously considered "unlikely," although that could always change. The US government official was referring to the end of the Jewish Passover holiday on April 30. The Passover festival, which begins next Monday evening, commemorates the Israelites' exodus from Egypt and their liberation from slavery.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard and other leaders are on high alert, the government official also said, according to the report. Some stayed in safe places or underground shelters.
At the same time, the broadcaster reported, citing three Israeli government officials, that Israel had been preparing for retaliatory strikes against Iran for at least two nights this week, but then called them off.
The EU called on both Israel and Iran to refrain from further attacks on each other. All parties are urged to exercise extreme restraint and not to take any action that could increase tensions in the region, said a statement from the heads of state and government released at the EU summit in Brussels. UN Secretary-General António Guterres also once again called for “utmost restraint” in the face of “dangerous rhetoric in the region,” as his spokesman said.
Iran: Did not use modern weapons against Israel
According to their own statements, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards did not use their most modern missiles in their major attack on Israel. “We acted against the Zionist enemy with old weapons of minimal strength,” the Tasnim news agency quoted the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Forces, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, as saying.
A year ago, Iran's Revolutionary Guards presented a fourth version of a medium-range missile of the "Khorramshahr" type, which can be equipped with a 1.5-ton warhead. Another unused “Sedzhil” rocket is said to be able to reach Israel in around seven minutes. Iran continually introduces new types of weapons, but the developments cannot be independently verified.
According to Iranian state media, medium-range missiles such as “Emad” and “Kheibarshekan” were used in the attack on Sunday night. The “Paweh” cruise missile was also fired. The rocket strikes were accompanied by swarms of drones. The same kamikaze drones called Shahed 136 were sent out, which Russia also uses in the fight against Ukraine.
Prosor orders the EU to “change course” towards Iran
Israel's ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, meanwhile called on the EU to "change course" in its policy towards Iran. After the major Iranian attack on his country, Europe must “take a clear stance,” said the ambassador to the “Rheinische Post”. “For example, by listing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. The Revolutionary Guard spreads terror and violence in the Middle East and beyond,” Prosor said. “It’s Europe’s turn. We have seen that it has not been possible to contain the dangers posed by Iran. We need a change of course.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees a possible approach for classifying the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization. There is a verdict on the question of the activities of this organization, said Scholz on the sidelines of the EU summit. This could be a starting point for listing the Revolutionary Guards. A legal review of the issue is currently underway in the EU.
Qatar wants to rethink its role as a mediator
Meanwhile, the Gulf emirate of Qatar wants to rethink its role as a mediator in the war between Israel and Hamas. Qatar's role had to some extent been abused for political purposes, said Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the capital Doha. He did not elaborate on who and what he meant specifically.
“This has caused Qatar to completely reassess its role and we are currently in this phase,” Al Thani said. Negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of further hostages who were kidnapped into the Gaza Strip during the attack by Islamist terrorists on Israel on October 7th last year have been underway for months with the mediation of Qatar, the USA and Egypt. However, a breakthrough in the negotiations is currently not foreseeable.
For the first time, relief supplies were handled through the port of Ashdod
Meanwhile, aid deliveries for the Gaza Strip were handled there for the first time since the opening of the port of Ashdod in southern Israel. Eight transporters with flour were checked and then brought to the coastal area, said the Israeli army and the Israeli Cogat authority, which is responsible for contacts with the Palestinians and humanitarian aid.
However, the World Food Program (WFP) trucks drove into the sealed-off coastal area via the Kerem Shalom border crossing in the south - not via Erez in the north of the Gaza Strip, which Israel also recently announced would be opened. There was no indication of when that might happen. Kerem Shalom has long been used for aid deliveries. According to experts, there is a risk of famine in parts of the sealed-off Gaza Strip, especially in the north. dpa