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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
In photos: Students lead protest against Israeli war in Columbia University
Hundreds of students continued their encampment on the campus of Columbia University to protest against the Israeli war in Gaza despite arrests and disciplinary actions from the college authorities.
The majority of protesters faced charges of trespassing as they refused to vacate the area, violating school regulations. Additionally, suspensions were issued.
Thousands of Israelis join anti-government protests calling for new elections
Thousands of Israeli demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday to call for new elections and demand more action from the government to bring the hostages held in Gaza home, in the latest round of protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The protests have continued as the war in Gaza moves through its seventh month and amid growing anger over the government's approach to the 133 Israeli hostages still held by the Islamist movement Hamas.
Surveys indicate that most Israelis blame Netanyahu for the security failures that led to the devastating attack by Hamas fighters on communities in southern Israel on 7 October.
Israel's longest-serving prime minister has repeatedly ruled out early elections, which opinion polls suggest he would lose, saying that to go to the polls in the middle of a war would only reward Hamas.
"We're here to protest against this government that keeps dragging us down, month after month; before October 7th, after October 7th. We kept going down in a spiral," said Yalon Pikman, 58, who attended a march in Tel Aviv.
Hamas-led gunmen seized 253 people during the 7 October attack that killed around 1,200, according to Israeli tallies. Some hostages were freed in a November truce, but efforts to secure another deal appear to have stalled.
Netanyahu has pledged to continue the Israeli campaign in Gaza, which local health authorities say has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, until all the hostages are brought home and Hamas has been destroyed.
Mapped: Where is Isfahan? The target of suspected Israeli strikes against Iran
Mapped: Where is Isfahan? The target of Israel’s strikes against Iran
Explosions were heard near a major military airbase and nuclear site in Isfahan, Iran, state media reported
Tara Cobham21 April 2024 06:00 1713672000Watch: Moment huge explosion hits base of Iranian-aligned Iraqi army unit
More than 14 Palestinians killed in Israeli raid on refugee camp, Palestinian authorities say
Israeli forces killed 14 Palestinians during a raid at the Nur al-Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
Among the fatalities, an ambulance driver was killed as he went to pick up wounded from a separate attack by violent Jewish settlers, it added.
Israeli forces began an extended raid in the early hours of Friday in the Nur Shams area, near the flashpoint Palestinian city of Tulkarm and were still exchanging fire with armed fighters well into Saturday.
Israeli military vehicles massed and bursts of gunfire were heard, while at least three drones were seen hovering above Nur Shams, an area housing refugees and their descendants from the 1948 war that accompanied the creation of the state of Israel.
On Saturday, Palestinian health authorities said at least 14 Palestinians, two of whom were identified by Palestinian sources and officials as a gunman and a 16 year-old boy, were killed during the raid, one of the heaviest casualty totals in the West Bank in months. Another man was killed on Friday.
Shweta Sharma21 April 2024 04:10 1713668400
How many nuclear weapons do Israel and Iran have amid fears of wider conflict
On Friday morning, Iranians walked down the streets of Tehran next to posters adorning the country’s national flag with three depictions of missiles being fired from it.
“Israel is as weak as a spider web”, one poster read. Just hours before, explosions were heard over an airbase 200 miles south of the city in Isfahan.
Tehran’s defences had shot down three drones launched from over 1,200 miles away in Israel - said to be part of Netanyahu’s “response” for an earlier attack by Iran which saw over 300 missiles and drones fired at the Jewish state.
Alexander Butler reports:
How many nuclear weapons do Israel and Iran have?
The UN warned the Middle East is on the ‘precipice’ of a wider war amid tit-for-tat conflict between Israel and Iran
Tara Cobham21 April 2024 04:00 1713668277US House passes $95b Ukraine, Israel aid package
The US House of Representatives has finally passed billions of dollars of aid to Ukraine and Israel amid resistance from Republican hardliners.
A broad $95b legislative package providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, was passed yesterday with $26b pledged for Israel.
The Senate is set to begin considering the House-passed bill on Tuesday, with some preliminary votes that afternoon. Final passage was expected sometime next week, which would clear the way for Biden to sign it into law.
The House’s actions during a rare Saturday session put on display some cracks in what generally is solid support for Israel within Congress. Recent months have seen progressive Democrats express anger with Israel‘s government and its conduct of the war in Gaza.
Saturday’s vote, in which the Israel aid was passed 366-58, had 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans in opposition.
Shweta Sharma21 April 2024 03:57 1713664800
US says a UN agency has agreed to help in distribution of aid to Gaza via sea route
The UN World Food Program has agreed to help deliver aid for the starving civilians of Gaza once the US military completes a pier for transporting the humanitarian assistance by sea, US officials said Friday.
The involvement of the UN agency could help resolve one of the major obstacles facing the US-planned project — the reluctance of aid groups to handle on-the-ground distribution of food and other badly needed goods in Gaza absent significant changes by Israel.
An Israeli military attack on 1 April that killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen intensified international criticism of Israel for failing to provide security for humanitarian workers or allow adequate amounts of aid across its land borders.
Ellen Knickmeyer and Lolita C. Baldor report:
US says a UN agency has agreed to help in distribution of aid to Gaza via sea route
The U.N. World Food Program has agreed to help deliver aid for the starving civilians of Gaza once the U.S. military completes a pier for transporting the humanitarian assistance by sea
Tara Cobham21 April 2024 03:00 1713661200Recap: Watch as explosions heard and blast of light seen over Iran city in suspected Israel attack
What Israel’s suspected strike inside Iran tells us about Netanyahu
The conflict between Israel and Iran, fought out often in secret and through proxies, has now erupted with Israel suspected to have carried out strikes deep inside Iran six days after Tehran’s attack with more than 350 drones and missiles.
Explosions were heard near the central city of Isfahan, which has a large airbase, a major missile production complex and number of nuclear facilities.
Videos from the city showed orange flashes in the night sky, along with sounds of what appeared to be sustained bursts of anti-aircraft artillery.
World Affairs Editor Kim Sengupta reports:
What Israel’s strike inside Iran tells us about Netanyahu - Analysis
With the ratcheting of tension in an area bristling with arms, a misstep by either side may lead to the law of unintended consequences – the feared conflagration spreading across the Middle East and beyond
Tara Cobham21 April 2024 01:00 Newer1 / 5OlderDisclaimer: 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.
