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Iran’s foreign minister played down Israel’s suspected limited military attack on Friday, claiming it “was not a strike” and refusing to acknowledge Israeli involvement.
“It has not been proven to us that there is a connection between this and Israel,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told NBC.
“They were more like toys that our children play with – not drones,” he added.
Meanwhile, an Israeli official said it was intended only to convey to Iran that Israel has the ability to hit targets inside the country.
The attack appeared to target an Iranian Air Force base near the city of Isfahan, deep inside the country, but without striking any strategic sites or causing major damage.
It comes as a man was killed at another base being used by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
Two security sources said it was not known who was responsible for the air strike. A US official said there had been no US military activity in Iraq.
One PMF fighter was killed and six were wounded, according to sources at the nearby hospital in Hilla.
Key Points
- ‘More like toys’: Iran downplays Isfahan drone strike
- Explosion at Iranian-aligned Iraqi army unit in Baghdad
- Blinken says US not involved in Israeli strike on Iran, calls for calm
- Man threatens to blow himself up at French Iran consulate
- ‘Material losses’ reported in Syria, state-run media says
Erdogan meets Hamas leader in Turkey to discuss efforts for regional peace
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and reach a fair and lasting peace in the region during a meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul on Saturday, his office said.
It was the first meeting between Erdogan and a Hamas delegation headed by Haniyeh since Israel began its military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh's visit to Turkey took place three days after he met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Doha.
"Issues related to Israel's attacks on lands of Palestine, particularly Gaza, efforts for adequate and uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and a fair and lasting peace process in the region were discussed," the Turkish presidency said in a statement.
The visit took place amid escalating regional tensions following Israel's reported attack on Iran this week.
"Erdogan stressed that Israel should not benefit from the developments (between Iran and Israel) and that it is important to make efforts that will draw attention to Gaza again," the statement added.
NATO member Turkey has denounced Israel's offensive in Gaza following Hamas' 7 October attack on Israel and called for an immediate ceasefire.
In Saturday's meeting, Erdogan told Haniyeh Turkey continues its diplomatic efforts for a permanent ceasefire as well as the establishment of an independent state of Palestine, according to the statement.
Erdogan also told Haniyeh "it is vital for Palestinians to act in unity," the statement said.
Six children killed in Israeli airstrike on southern Gaza city of Rafah
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza’s southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children.
The strike late Friday hit a residential building in the western Tel Sultan neighbourhood of the city of Rafah, according to Gaza’s civil defence.
The casualties were initially transferred to the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah, and later the bodies of the six children, two women and a man were taken to Rafah’s Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital, where the area’s main morgue is located, the hospital’s records showed.
The fatalities included Abdel-Fattah Sobhi Radwan, his wife Najlaa Ahmed Aweidah and their three children, his brother-in-law Ahmed Barhoum said. Barhoum also lost his wife, Rawan Radwan, and their 5-year-old daughter Alaa.
“This is a world devoid of all human values and morals,” Barhoum told The Associated Press Saturday morning, crying as he cradled and gently rocked the shroud-wrapped body of Alaa in his arms.
“They bombed a house full of displaced people, women and children. The only martyrs were women and children.”
Turkey says ending Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is 'first priority'
Tension between Israel and Iran should not distract from the situation in Gaza and the first priority of the international community should be ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Fidan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said there was concern in the region over the ongoing escalation.
“We’ve warned of the expansion of the conflict from the very beginning,” he said.
“We’ve called on both parties (Iran and Israel) to exercise restraint.”
Fidan said the main cause of instability in the Middle East was Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and Western backing for Israel.
“Any development that could distract us from this fact should be ignored,” he said. “Our first priority should be ending Israel’s occupation in Palestine and a two-state solution.”
Iraq's PMF force says base was attacked, army investigates
A huge blast at a military base in Iraq early on Saturday killed a member of an Iraqi security force that includes Iran-backed groups.
The force commander said it was an attack while the army said it was investigating and there were no warplanes in the sky at the time.
Two security sources had said earlier that an airstrike caused the blast, which killed a member of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and wounded eight others at Kalso military base about 50 km (30 miles) south of Baghdad.
In a statement, the PMF said its chief of staff Abdul Aziz al-Mohammedawi had visited the location and reviewed information from investigators.
“The air defence command report confirmed, through technical efforts and radar detection, that there was no drone or fighter jet in the air space of Babil before and during the explosion,” the military said in a statement.
A video broadcast by Al Ahad TV, which is owned by a PMF faction, showed debris and a crater left by the explosion.
Moment huge explosion hits base of Iranian-backed Iraqi army unit
Footage released on social media on Saturday 20 April appears to show huge explosions at a military base belonging to Iraq’s Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Babylon, south of Baghdad.
The cause of the blast hasn’t been confirmed.
Footage from a car shows huge explosions in the distance from an ammunition depot inside the military base, followed by what appears to launch bright fragments into the sky and with huge smoke and fire.
A statement from the Iran-backed PMF said “an explosion occurred at the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces at the Kalsu military base”.
Moment huge explosion hits base of Iranian-backed Iraqi army unit
Footage released on social media on Saturday 20 April appears to show huge explosions at a military base belonging to Iraq’s Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Babylon, south of Baghdad. The cause of the blast hasn't been confirmed. Footage from a car shows huge explosions in the distance from an ammunition depot inside the military base, followed by what appears to launch bright fragments into the sky and with huge smoke and fire. A statement from the Iran-backed PMF said "an explosion occurred at the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces at the Kalsu military base". One PMF fighter was killed and six were wounded, according to sources at the nearby hospital in Hilla. The Independent is unable to independently verify the content, date and conditions under which the footage was filmed.
Barney Davis20 April 2024 14:21 1713604550Hamas condemns explosion at Iraqi base
Hamas “strongly condemns” reported explosions on a base of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in Iraq and “considers it a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty”, Al Jazeera reported.
“We hold the Biden administration responsible for the escalation in the region through its supply and support for the Nazi war of extermination against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” the group said in a statement.
Barney Davis20 April 2024 10:15 1713600950‘Latest strike like a children’s toy rather than drone’ Iran brushes off Israel attack
Iran’s foreign minister played down Israel’s limited military attack on Friday, claiming it “was not a strike” and refusing to acknowledge Israeli involvement.
“It has not been proven to us that there is a connection between this and Israel,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in an NBC News interview about the operation.
“They were more like toys that our children play with — not drones,” he added.
An Israeli official, who confirmed the strike on the condition of anonymity to discuss the government’s thinking, said it was intended only to convey to Iran that Israel has the ability to hit targets inside the country.
The “attack” appeared to be calibrated as a message to Tehran that would not prompt an immediate retaliation.
Barney Davis20 April 2024 09:15 1713597153'Bombing' hits Iraq military base housing pro-Iranian force, Iraqi officials say
An explosion rocked the Calso military base in Babylon province south of Baghdad, where Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, or Hashed al-Shaabi, is stationed, according to two officials.
A ministry of interior official said the “aerial bombing” had killed one person and wounded eight others, while the military source reported three Iraqi military personnel had been wounded in a strike.
In a statement, Hashed al-Shaabi said an “explosion” had inflicted “material losses” and casualties, without specifying the number of wounded.
The group confirmed that its premises on the military base had been hit and that investigators had been sent to the site.
Responding to questions from AFP, the security sources would not identify who was responsible, or say whether it had been a drone strike.
“The explosion hit equipment, weapons and vehicles,” said the ministry source.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Barney Davis20 April 2024 08:12 1713596421Iran says it will respond at 'maximum level' if Israel acts against its interests
Iran has said it will respond at an immediate and “maximum level” if Israel acts against its interests.
“If Israel wants to do another adventurism and acts against the interests of Iran, our next response will be immediate and will be at the maximum level,” foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said, speaking through a translator, in an interview with NBC News.
“But if not, then we are done. We are concluded,” he said.
His comments follow reports of a strike in Iran on Friday.
Shweta Sharma20 April 2024 08:00 1713592800Iran and Israel won’t stop fighting, but WW3 has been averted… for now
From the early hours of this morning, a blizzard of reports spoke of an attack on an airbase near Isfahan, in central Iran. Such an attack was hardly unexpected. For all the appeals, from the US, the UK, and many others, Israel had left no doubt that it would mount a military response to Iran’s failed assault the week before.
What appeared to be a finely targeted raid on a complex believed to have been involved in Iran’s attack – a raid, what is more, carried out on the Iranian Supreme Leader’s birthday – could well have been it.
Except that, in the cold hard light of day, Iran denied there had been any attack at all.
Mary Dejevsky writes:
Iran and Israel won’t stop fighting, but World War Three has been averted – for now
Iran’s surprisingly solemn response to Israel’s retaliatory airstrike could be seen as a hopeful sign that points to an end to the tit-for-tat escalation – or something far more foreboding, says Mary Dejevsky
Tara Cobham20 April 2024 07:00 Newer1 / 9OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
