JERUSALEM (AP) – The Latest on the war in Syria, where Israel responded to a rocket attack by launching a wave of missile strikes on Iranian…
JERUSALEM (AP) – The Latest on the war in Syria, where Israel responded to a rocket attack by launching a wave of missile strikes on Iranian positions (all times local):
11:30 p.m.
Israel’s U. N. ambassador is calling on the U. N. Security Council and the secretary-general to immediately condemn Iran’s missile attack and demand that Tehran remove its military presence from Syria.
Danny Danon said in letters to the council and U. N. chief Antonio Guterres that “the international community must not stand idly by while a tyrannical regime attacks a sovereign nation and continues to threaten the very existence of a member-state of the United Nations.”
Danon said “Israel is not interested in escalation, but under no circumstances will we allow Iran to establish a military presence in Syria whose purpose is to attack Israel and to deteriorate an already fragile situation in the region.”
The Security Council, which is deeply divided over Syria, is highly unlikely to issue a statement and no council member has asked for a meeting on the missile attacks against Israel and Syria. Secretary-General Guterres urged “an immediate halt to all hostile acts” to avoid “a new conflagration” in the Middle East.
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8:55 p.m.
The United Nations says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging “an immediate halt to all hostile acts” and provocative actions to avoid “a new conflagration” in the Middle East.
U. N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters the U. N. peacekeeping force on the Golan Heights has maintained contact with the Syrian and Israeli military, “urging both parties to exercise maximum restraint” and abide by the 1974 cease-fire agreement.
He said the secretary-general followed “with utmost concern” overnight reports of missile launches from Syria targeting Israeli positions and retaliatory strikes by Israel and is relieved at Thursday’s “partial normalization of the situation.”
Dujarric said Guterres is “very engaged” and has been in contact “with various people at various levels” about the attacks.
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8:25 p.m.
Israel’s prime minister says the strike on Iran’s military installations inside Syria sent a “clear message” to President Bashar Assad not to attack Israel.
Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday in a statement that “we are in a continuous campaign” and that “Israel’s military had carried out very extensive strike against Iranian targets” in Syria.
Netanyahu said Syrian batteries fired at Israeli forces “and therefore we struck them.”
He warned “whoever attacks us – we will attack them sevenfold and whoever prepares to attack us – we will act against them first.”
The prime minister issued the statement as Israel’s security cabinet was meeting, according to media reports.
Israel said the targets of the strikes, its largest in Syria since the 1973 war, included weapons storage, logistics sites and intelligence centers used by elite Iranian forces in Syria.
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7:40 p.m.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office says the German leader has condemned an Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights in a phone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
She also reaffirmed European powers’ continued support for the Iran nuclear deal.
Merkel’s office said the two leaders spoke Thursday. It said in a statement that Merkel underlined the support of Germany, France and Britain for the nuclear deal so long as Tehran continues to fulfill its obligations under that agreement. Merkel advocated opening talks with Iran on its ballistic missile programs and its activities in countries such as Syria and Yemen.
The statement said Merkel condemned the overnight attacks on Israeli positions “and called on Iran to contribute to de-escalation in the region.” It didn’t say how Rouhani responded.
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3:45 p.m.
The White House has condemned Iran’s “provocative rocket attacks from Syria against Israeli citizens” and expressed strong support for “Israel’s right to act in self-defense.”
The statement from press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders comes after the most serious direct military confrontation between the two bitter enemies to date. The Israeli military on Thursday said it attacked nearly all of Iran’s military installations in neighboring Syria in response to what it described as an Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the occupied Golan Heights.
Sanders says: “The Iranian regime’s deployment into Syria of offensive rocket and missile systems aimed at Israel is an unacceptable and highly dangerous development for the entire Middle East.”
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3:20 p.m.
A top official from the Arab Gulf country of Bahrain is defending what he says is Israel’s “right” to defend itself after Israel launched overnight strikes on Iranian targets in Syria.
Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa wrote on Twitter Thursday that so long as Iran uses its forces and missiles to try and destabilize the region, “it is the right of any country in the region, including Israel to defend itself by destroying sources of danger.”
Israel says Iranian rocket attacks on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights prompted the overnight strikes. Iran has not commented on the accusations.
Bahrain, a close U. S. ally, considers Iran a regional threat. The tiny island-nation accuses its Persian Gulf neighbor of arming and training Shiite Bahraini protesters with the aim of destabilizing the Sunni-ruled country. Bahrain has also welcomed President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear accord with Iran.
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3:15 p.m.
Russia says the Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities in Syria have marked a dangerous escalation, urging both Israel and Iran to avoid provoking each other.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow sees Thursday’s strikes as a “very alarming development.”
He noted that in contacts with the leadership of both countries, including a meeting Wednesday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “we underlined the necessity of avoiding any actions that might be mutually provocative.” Netanyahu visited Moscow Wednesday to attend celebrations marking the WWII victory anniversary.
Israel said it struck dozens of Iranian targets overnight in response to a rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights, the biggest Israeli strike in Syria since the 1973 war.
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3 p.m.
Britain has condemned “in the strongest terms” a suspected Iranian rocket attack against Israeli positions in the Golan Heights.
In a statement Thursday, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urged Iran to refrain from actions that could destabilize the region. Johnson also called on Russia to press the Syrian government, its ally, to work toward a broader political settlement.
The attack in the Golan prompted Israel to launch a wave of missile strikes at Iranian targets inside Syria. Iran has not commented on the exchange of fire. Syria’s military said the Israeli strikes killed three people and damaged a number of its air defense units.
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2:15 p.m.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are calling for de-escalation in the Middle East after an alleged Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights prompted Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria.
Merkel and Macron met in Aachen, Germany Thursday on the sidelines of a ceremony where Macron was awarded a prize for contributions to European unity. The German government said they discussed events in the Middle East and called for “level-headedness and de-escalation in the region.”
Merkel alluded to the two countries’ support for the Iran nuclear deal. She said: “We know that we face an extremely complicated situation here. The escalation of the last few hours shows it is truly a matter of war and peace, and I can only call on all involved to exercise restraint.”
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2 p.m.
Syria’s military says overnight Israeli airstrikes killed three people, wounded two and destroyed a radar station, an ammunition warehouse, and damaged a number of air defense units.
