US, UK urge end to Israel, Iran retaliatory attacks

Washington has urged Tehran to stop attacking Israel to break the cycle of violence after Israel’s airstrikes on Iranian military targets in retaliation for a missile barrage.

The US National Security Council spokesman, Sean Savett, said on Saturday: “We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation.”

Stressing that the US did not participate in the operation, he added, “It is our aim to accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region.”

A senior administration official said President Joe Biden and his national security team had worked with the “Israelis over recent weeks to encourage Israel to conduct a response that was targeted and proportional with low risk of civilian harm”.

“And that appears to have been precisely what transpired this evening,” the official told reporters.

London has also announced that it was “monitoring this situation closely” after the Israeli strikes on Iran.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged Iran not to respond to the attack, saying the Middle East needs to “avoid further regional escalation”.

He said: “I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression.”

“I’m equally clear that we need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. Iran should not respond,” he continued, adding, “We will continue to work with allies to deescalate the situation across the region.”

France has also taken note of Israel’s announcement of strikes against military targets in Iran.

“France urges the parties to refrain from any escalation and action likely to aggravate the context of extreme tension prevailing in the region,” the foreign ministry in Paris announced in a statement.

The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, confirmed early Saturday that the IDF conducted “precise strikes on military targets” in Iran on Friday night.

Iran’s air defense force has confirmed Israeli attacks targeting positions in Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam provinces, saying the offensives have caused limited damage.

“Despite the previous warnings of the officials of the Islamic Republic to the criminal and illegal Zionist regime to avoid any adventurous action, this fake regime attacked parts of military centers in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam this morning in a tension-causing action,” the air defense force announced in a statement on Saturday morning.

It further said that the country’s integrated air defense system successfully intercepted and countered the act of aggression.

The attacks caused limited damage in some locations and the dimensions of the incident are under investigation, the statement added.