Iran warned the United States not to respond to its attack on Israel, as the confrontation between the two-arch foes spilled over into the region and US President Joe Biden held consultations in Washington.
This “is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the US MUST STAY AWAY!” Iran’s mission to the UN in New York stated in a post on X early Sunday morning.
It justified its launch of a drone and missile attack on Israel as an act of self-defense permissible under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
“Iran’s military action was in response to the Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus,” it wrote, as it referred to the April 1 strike that killed seven of its military officials.
“The matter can be deemed concluded. However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe,” it stated.
According to Channel 12, an Israeli official has already said that there will be a significant response to Iran’s overnight attack on Israel.
Israel working with coalition of military forces
Iran spoke out as Israel worked with a coalition of military forces including from the US, Jordan, and British armies to thwart the Iranian drone attack.
US forces in the region continue to shoot down Iranian-launched drones targeting Israel, according to a US military official.
“Our forces remain postured to provide additional defensive support and to protect US forces operating in the region,” according to the official.
US forces in the region continue to shoot down Iranian-launched drones targeting Israel, according to a US military official.
“Our forces remain postured to provide additional defensive support and to protect US forces operating in the region,” according to the official.
Earlier Tehran warned it would firmly respond to any country that “opens its airspace or territory for attacks on Iran by Israel,” according to the country’s semi-official Mehr news agency.
The British Ministry of Defense said that the country’s Royal Air Force jets in the Middle East “will intercept any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions, as required” after Iran targeted Israel with drones and missiles.
“In response to increased Iranian threats and the growing risk of escalation in the Middle East, the UK Government has been working with partners across the region to encourage de-escalation and prevent further attacks,” the statement added.
Iran also focused specifically on Jordan. Iran is watching Jordan for any moves in support of Israel during Tehran’s retaliatory attacks, warning the country may become the “next target,” a military source told the semi-official news agency Fars on Sunday.
“A military-informed source said (we) are closely monitoring Jordan’s movements during the punitive attacks … and if they participate in any possible action (to back Israel), they will be the next target,” Fars reported.
Jordanian jets downed dozens of Iranian drones flying across northern and central Jordan heading to Israel, two regional security sources said.
The sources said the drones were brought down in the air on the Jordanian side of the Jordan Valley and were heading in the direction of Jerusalem. Others were intercepted close to the Iraqi-Syrian border. They gave no further details.
Jordan’s military has been in a state of high alert and radar systems were monitoring any drone activity coming from the direction of Iraq and Syria.
Residents in several cities in the northern part of the country near Syria and central and southern areas heard heavy aerial activity. A security source said the country’s air force was intensifying reconnaissance flights.
Jordan had earlier said it closed its airspace starting on Saturday night to all incoming, departing, and transiting aircraft in what officials told Reuters were precautionary measures in the event of an Iranian strike across its border.
Jordan neighbors Syria and Iraq – both countries where Iranian proxy forces operate – and also sits next door to Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Egyptian foreign ministry, in a statement early on Sunday, called for the exercise of the “utmost restraint” to spare the region and its people from further factors of instability and tension.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned Iran’s “reckless” attack against Israel, which he said showed that it was “intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard.”
“These strikes risk inflaming tensions and destabilizing the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard,” Sunak said in a statement.
“The UK will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq.”
French Foreign Minister Stephane Séjourné posted on X that his country “strongly condemns the attack launched by Iran against Israel.
“Its decision to take such an unprecedented action is another step up by Iran in its destabilizing actions, and it risks a military escalation.
France reaffirms its attachment to Israel’s security, and assures it that it will stand by its side,” he stated.
At the White House US President Joe Biden was expected to meet with the National Security Council. Among the participants will be US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary Antony Blinken, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown, CIA Director Bill Burns, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said “Biden is being regularly updated on the situation by his national security team and will meet with them this afternoon at the White House. His team is in constant communication with Israeli officials as well as other partners and allies.
“Biden has been clear: our support for Israel’s security is ironclad. The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran,’ she stated.
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