Iran-Israel tensions updates | As it happened on April 14, 2024

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that he spoke to his Iranian counterpart Amirabdollahian about the release of 17 Indian crew members on board the seized MSC Aries.

The Ministers also discussed the current situation in the region, he said. “Stressed the importance of avoiding escalation, exercising restraint and returning to diplomacy,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.

The G7 nations condemned Iran’s attack on Israel and reassured their support for Israel’s security, the White House said on X. European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the Group will continue to work towards stabilising the situation.

British Foreign Minister David Cameron said he had “formally condemned in the strongest terms” Iran’s attack on Israel in a call with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian.

“I made clear that Iran must stop these reckless attacks, de-escalate and release the MSC Aries,” Cameron said on X, referring to a Portuguese-flagged vessel that Iran’s state news agency IRNA said had been seized by Revolutionary Guards.

- Reuters

Lufthansa has suspended until April 15 its flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel, Amman in Jordan, as well as Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, a spokesman said.

The airline is “constantly monitoring the situation in the Middle East”, a spokesman told AFP. Flights to and from Beirut and Tehran will remain suspended until at least April 18, as announced earlier, he said.

- AFP

Embassy of India in Iran activated the following helpline numbers:

+989128109115; +989128109109; +989932179567; +989932179359; +98-21-88755103-5

Email: cons.tehran@mea.gov.in

U.S. President Joe Biden has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States would not participate in any Israeli counter-offensive against Iran, according to reports on April 14 by CNN and the Wall Street Journal.

Speaking with Netanyahu late on April 13, Biden suggested further response was unnecessary, and senior U.S. officials told their counterparts that the United States would not participate in an offensive response against Iran, CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported.

John Kirby, the White House’s top national security spokesperson, told ABC’s “This Week” program on April 14 that the United States will continue to help Israel defend itself, but does not want war with Iran.

“We don’t seek escalated tensions in the region. We don’t seek a wider conflict,” Kirby said.

- Reuters

Iran informed Turkiye in advance of its planned operation against Israel, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters, adding that the U.S. conveyed to Iran via Ankara that its operation must be “within certain limits”.

Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to make clear that escalation in the Middle East was not in anyone’s interest.

- Reuters

The first direct attack on Israel by arch foe Iran has shaken Israelis and left them fearful that a bigger war is looming.

While the population has long been used to sirens warning of attacks from Iranian-backed Hamas, the hundreds of drones and missiles sent from Iran over April 13 night marked a new element in the over-lapping Middle East conflicts.

Israel reported modest damage on April 14 after the military said it shot down almost all of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran.

But the attack still rattled Israelis, whose army has fought the Palestinian Hamas for years in Gaza but never engaged in direct warfare with regional superpower Iran. Iranian weapons and interceptors could be seen flashing over the sky at night.

- Reuters

Israel will exact a price from Iran in response to its mass missile and drone attack when the time is right, centrist War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz said.

“We will build a regional coalition and exact the price from Iran in the fashion and timing that is right for us,” Gantz said in a statement as the Israeli war cabinet was due to convene to discuss Israel’s response to Iran’s attack.

- Reuters

EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for an extraordinary meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Ministers on Tuesday (April 16) to discuss Iran’s attacks against Israel.

“Our objective is to contribute to de-escalation and security of the region” Borrell wrote on social media platform X.

- Reuters

Turkey does not want further escalation of tension in the region after Iran’s drone and missile attack against Israel, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told Fidan that its “retaliatory operation” against Israel had ended, adding that Iran would not launch a new operation unless it was attacked, Turkish diplomatic sources said.

Air India on April 14 decided to temporarily suspend flights to Tel Aviv amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.

An official said the direct flights between Delhi and Tel Aviv will be suspended for now. Air India operates four weekly flights between the two cities.

- PTI

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“Every effort must be made to prevent a further escalation in the Middle East. Iran’s actions threaten the entire region and the world, just as Russia’s actions threaten a larger conflict, and the obvious collaboration between the two regimes in spreading terror must face a resolute and united response from the world,” Zelensky said.

Iran notified its neighbours of its retaliatory strikes on Israel 72 hours in advance, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said.

“About 72 hours prior to our operations, we informed our friends and neighbours in the region that Iran’s response against Israel was certain, legitimate, and irrevocable,” Amirabdollahian said at a press conference.

- Reuters

Iran launched a wave of drone and missile attack on Israe l on Sunday night in retaliation against the April 1 air strike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus in which a senior IRGC commander was killed.

While the situation remains highly volatile, there are at least three takeaways from the biggest crisis that’s unfolding in West Asia since the American invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Read the analysis from Stanly Johny here:

Analysis | Three takeaways from Iran’s attack on Israel

Iran launches drone and missile attack on Israel, escalating tensions in West Asia; U.S. support for Israel questioned.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday that British military jets shot down drones launched by Iran in its attack on Israel and called for “calm heads to prevail” to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

“I can confirm that our planes did shoot down a number of Iranian attack drones,” Sunak told broadcasters.

“If this attack had been successful, the fallout for regional stability would be hard to overstate. We stand by the security of Israel and the wider region, which is of course important for our security here at home, too. What we now need is for calm heads to prevail.”

- Reuters

Iran informed the U.S. that its attacks against Israel will be “limited” and for self-defence, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said in a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran on Sunday.

- Reuters

Iran has no intention of prolonging its “defensive operations” but it will not hesitate to safeguard its legitimate interests against any new aggression, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said in a post on X (formerly, Twitter).

- Reuters

Pope Francis urged Iran and Israel to avoid actions that could feed “a spiral of violence” that risked dragging the Middle East deeper into conflict.

“Enough war, enough attacks, enough violence. Yes to dialogue, yes to peace,” he told pilgrims in St Peter’s Square.

- Reuters

Iran’s foreign ministry summoned on Sunday the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to question what it referred to as their “irresponsible stance” regarding Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel, the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency reported.

- Reuters

Russia on Sunday urged all sides to “show restraint” after Iran launched an unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel.

“We are counting on the regional states to solve the existing problems with political and diplomatic means,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Moscow expressed “extreme concern over the latest dangerous escalation in the region”.

It said it had warned numerous times that “the lack of resolution to numerous crises in the Middle East, primarily in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict” would “lead to growth in instability”.

- AFP

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned on Sunday against any “reckless” Israeli retaliation to Tehran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack, as world leaders urged restraint.

Iran’s President Raisi said in a statement that “if the Zionist regime (Israel) or its supporters demonstrate reckless behaviour, they will receive a decisive and much stronger response.”

Numerous countries condemned the attack, and the United Nations Security Council is due to hold an emergency meeting later on Sunday over what it has called a “serious escalation”.

- AFP

Several Iranian airports including Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International have cancelled flights until Monday, Iranian state media reported, as tensions flared in the Middle East with Iran’s attack on Israel overnight.

“All flights from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport have been cancelled until 6 a.m. (0230 GMT) following an announcement by Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation,” the airport’s executive told the Iranian Student News Agency.

Domestic flights from Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport and airports in Shiraz, Isfahan, Bushehr, Kerman, Ilam, and Sanandaj have also been cancelled until Monday morning, according to Iran’s Airports and Air Navigation Company, as the country’s western airspace remains off limits to flights.

- Reuters

The Indian mission in Israel issued a fresh “important advisory” for its nationals after attacks on the Jewish State by Iran with hundreds of projectiles, advising them to stay calm and adhere to safety protocols.

“In light of the recent events in the region, all Indian nationals in Israel are advised to stay calm and adhere to the safety protocols issued by the local authorities,” the Indian mission said in the “important advisory” advisory posted on its social media handles.

Iran urged Israel not to retaliate militarily to an unprecedented attack overnight, which Tehran presented as a justified response to a deadly strike on its consulate building in Damascus.

“The matter can be deemed concluded,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a post on social media platform X just a few hours after the start of the operation late Saturday.

“However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe,” the Iranian mission warned.

- AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed his country would achieve victory after the military said it shot down almost all the more than 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran in a sharp escalation of the Middle East conflict.

Tehran’s attacks late on Saturday, launched after a suspected Israeli air strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 that killed officers of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, raised the threat of a wider regional conflict.

- Reuters

A source within Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said Israel struck Sunday one of its buildings in Lebanon’s east, close to the Syrian border, as tensions soared after Iran directly attacked Israel.

“The Israeli strike targeted an area... near Baalbek and targeted a two-storey building belonging to Hezbollah,” a source within the group told AFP, adding there were no casualties. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency also reported that “an enemy air strike targeted a building” in the village of Nabi Sheet and “destroyed it”.

- AFP

Tel Aviv shares were flat to marginally lower in early Sunday trade after Iran’s attack on Israel on Saturday.

At 0734 GMT, the broad Tel Aviv 125 index was down 0.2%, coming off an earlier drop of 0.6%, while the blue-chip TA-35 was unchanged. Government bond prices were down as much as 0.6%.

- Reuters

Israeli airlines said operations were returning to normal on Sunday after an overnight attack by Iranian missiles and drones closed the airspace and led to flight cancellations.

Israel reopened its airspace as of 7:30 a.m. (0430 GMT) on Sunday, adding that flight schedules from Tel Aviv were expected to be affected and travellers should check flight times before going to Ben Gurion International Airport.

Flag carrier El Al said it had resumed operations and was “working to stabilise the flight schedule as soon as possible”.

- Reuters

The Iranian army said its drone and missile attack on Israel, in retaliation for a deadly strike on Iran’s Damascus consulate, has “achieved all its objectives”.

“Operation Honest Promise... was completed successfully from last night to this morning and achieved all its objectives”, Mohammad Bagheri, the Iranian armed forces’ chief of staff, told state TV.

- AFP

A cabinet statement from Jordan said it intercepted flying objects that entered its airspace on the night of April 13 to ensure the safety of its citizens.

Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon have reopened their airspace after closing it late on Saturday as Iran launched drone and missile attacks against Israel, the three countries said on Sunday.

Jordan’s state TV said the country had resumed air traffic operations, citing aviation authorities. The opening of its airspace came more than three hours earlier than scheduled.

Iraq’s aviation authority said security risks had now been overcome.

Lebanon said its airport will resume its activities after the overnight closure, state TV reported.

- Reuters

Iran has sent a message to the U.S. via Switzerland warning that its bases will be targeted if Washington backs Israel’s retaliation, State TV reported.

Italy has called a video meeting of G7 leaders to discuss the Iranian attack, on Israel, sources in the prime minister’s office said.

The call will be held in the early afternoon, European time. Italy currently holds the rotating G7 presidency.

- Reuters

Iran warned Israel of a larger attack on its territory should it retaliate against Tehran’s overnight drone and missile attack, adding that Washington has been warned not to back Israeli military action.

“Our response will be much larger than tonight’s military action if Israel retaliates against Iran,” armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri told state TV, adding that Tehran warned Washington that any backing of Israeli retaliation would result in U.S. bases being targeted.

- Reuters

Israel’s chief military spokesperson said on Sunday that France was among the countries involved in defending against Iran’s overnight attack on Israel.

“France has very good technology, jets, radar - and I know they were contributing in patrolling airspace,” he said, adding that he did not have exact details on whether French jets had shot down any of the missiles launched by Iran.

- Reuters

Israeli military spokesperson said French military assets were involved in the defence against the attack from Iran.

- Reuters

An incoming attack by more than 300 Iranian drones and ballistic missiles was the latest challenge to Israel’s air defense system, which already has been working overtime to cope with incoming rocket, drone and missile attacks throughout the six-month war against Hamas.

Israel’s defense system with assistance from the U.S. and Britain is credited with preventing serious damage or casualties.

Read more here.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa that his country “unequivocally condemns Iran’s airborne attacks”, adding: “We stand with Israel.”

“After supporting Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack, the Iranian regime’s latest actions will further destabilise the region and make lasting peace more difficult,” he added.

- AFP

“Israel for the first time deployed its ship-mounted defence system, called the C-Dome, against a “suspicious” target that entered the country’s airspace near the southern city of Eilat,” the military said on April 9.

The C-Dome is a naval version of the Iron Dome air defence system used to shield against rocket and missile attacks.

Israel deploys C-Dome defence system for first time

Israel deploys ship-mounted C-Dome defense system against suspicious aerial target near Eilat, successfully intercepting it.

The Israeli military said that Iran’s attack using hundreds of drones and missiles had been “foiled”, with 99% of them intercepted overnight.

“The Iranian attack was foiled,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.

None of the drones and cruise missiles that were launched towards Israel had entered its territory, Mr. Hagari said, and “only a few” ballistic missiles reached Israel.

One of them “lightly hit the Nevatim base”, he added, noting that the military compound was “still functioning”.

- AFP

Booms and air raid sirens sounded across Israel after Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a regionwide war. A military spokesman said the launches numbered more than 300 but 99% of them were intercepted.

Calling the outcome “a very significant strategic success,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. Of those, several ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing minor damage to an air base.

- AP

Israel reopened its airspace as of 7:30 a.m. (Israel time) on April 14, the country’s airports authority said after an overnight attack by hundreds of Iranian missiles and drones.

It said flight schedules from Tel Aviv were expected to be affected and travellers should check flight times.

- Reuters

Japan Foreign Minister Kamikawa said that the attack on Israel worsens the current Middle East situation. Mr. Kamikawa said that Japan strongly condemns the escalation.

- Reuters

Beijing expressed “deep concern” over Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said.

“China expresses deep concern over the current escalation and calls on relevant parties to exercise calm and restraint to prevent further escalations,” the unnamed spokesman said.

- AFP

U.S. President Joe Biden has condemned Iran’s unprecedented air attack on Israel and convened a meeting of the G-7 leaders to develop a coordinated response to the brazen assault.

His comments came as American forces joined efforts to down drones and missiles launched by Tehran.

Israel said it and its allies have intercepted the vast majority of more than 200 drones and missiles launched by Iran.

- PTI

“I strongly condemn the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran this evening. I call for an immediate cessation of these hostilities,” U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.

The Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah said that it had launched a fresh barrage of rockets towards the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, hours after it joined in a major Iranian drone and missile attack targeting Israel.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has regularly traded cross-border fire with Israel since the start of the ongoing war in Gaza, said in a statement that it had launched “dozens of Katyusha rockets” at three Israeli military positions in the Golan, which Israel seized from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967.

- AFP

President Joe Biden said that U.S. forces helped take down “nearly all” the drones and missiles fired by Iran at Israel, adding that he had reaffirmed his “ironclad” support to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mr. Biden added in a statement that he would convene his fellow leaders of the G7 group of wealthy nations to coordinate a “united diplomatic response” to Iran’s “brazen” attack.

- AFP

We are seriously concerned at the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran which threatens the peace and security in the region.

We call for immediate de-escalation, exercise of restraint, stepping back from violence and return to the path of diplomacy.

We are closely monitoring the evolving situation. Our Embassies in the region are in close touch with Indian community.

It is vital that security and stability are maintained in the region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a telephone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden after Iran attacked Israel, the Israeli premier’s office said.

The conversation took place after Mr. Netanyahu held a security cabinet meeting to discuss what the Israeli army said was an “ongoing” attack by Iran from its territory on Israel.

- AFP

The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on April 14 over Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel, the body’s president said.

The meeting is aiming to be held at 4:00 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Sunday and is at Israel’s request, a spokesperson for Malta, which holds the rotating presidency this month, told the media.

Israel’s envoy to the U.N., in a letter to the Security Council president, called Iran’s air assault a “flagrant violation of Israel’s sovereignty.”

- AFP

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned Iranian airstrikes on Israel “in the strongest possible terms,” a spokesperson said during a visit by Mr. Scholz to China.

“With this irresponsible and unjustifiable attack, Iran is risking a regional conflagration,” government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said after Mr. Scholz’s arrival in the Chinese city of Chongqing.

“Germany stands closely by Israel’s side,” Mr. Hebestreit said. “We will now discuss further reactions closely with our G7 partners and allies.”

- Reuters

The Chinese Embassy in Iran reminded Chinese nationals and companies in Iran to strengthen security and take precautions.

- Reuters

Cairo’s foreign ministry expressed its “deep concern” at the escalation of hostilities and called for “maximum restraint”.

The ministry’s statement also warned of the “risk of the regional expansion of the conflict”, and added that Egypt would be “in direct contact with all parties to the conflict to try and contain the situation”.

- AFP

The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell condemned the strikes as “an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security” in a message on X.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a statement condemned the “reckless” strikes, which he said “risk inflaming tensions and destabilising the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard.”

- AFP

Iran’s retaliatory drone and missile attack on Israel dealt “heavy blows” to an air base in the Negev desert, state media reported,

“The most important Israeli air base in the Negev was the successful target of the Kheibar missile,” the official IRNA news agency said, adding that “images and data indicate that the base sustained heavy blows.”

- AFP

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Iran’s drone attacks targeting Israel as a “serious escalation” and called on all sides to show restraint to avoid a devastating regional conflagration.

“I strongly condemn the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said in a statement.

“I am deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation. I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East,” Mr. Guterres added.

- AFP

U.S. President Joe Biden promised “ironclad” support for Israel against attacks by Iran, with American forces shooting down Iranian drones amid a spiraling crisis in the Middle East.

Mr. Biden cut short a weekend trip to the Delaware coast and held an emergency meeting at the White House with his top national security officials after Iran launched its unprecedented attack.

“I just met with my national security team for an update on Iran’s attacks against Israel. Our commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” Mr. Biden said on X. - AFP

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Saudi Arabia expressed the Kingdom’s deep concern regarding military escalations in the region and the seriousness of their repercussions, a statement from the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said early on Sunday.

The Kingdom called on all parties to exercise the ‘utmost levels’ of restraint and spare the region and its people the dangers of wars. -Reuters

The U.S. House of Representatives will make a change in its schedule to consider legislation that supports Israel and holds Iran accountable, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said in a statement on Saturday.

“The House of Representatives stands strongly with Israel, and there must be consequences for this unprovoked attack,” he said in a statement. More details will follow, he said.

Mr. Scalise’s office did not immediately respond to an inquiry seeking clarification of what legislation would be considered. -Reuters

Argentine President Javier Milei is ending his international trip early to handle his country’s response to the crisis in the Middle East, his spokesman said Saturday, after Iran launched a wave of drones and missiles at Israel.

“The President is returning to Argentina to form a Crisis Committee due to the latest events in Israel, to take charge of the situation and coordinate actions with the presidents of the Western world,” spokesman Manuel Adorni said on X, formerly Twitter. -AFP

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday any threat from the United States and Israel will be met with Tehran’s reciprocal response, state TV reported, hours after Iran launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones against Israeli targets.

“Any threat by the United States and the Zionist regime originating from any country will result in a proportional and reciprocal response from Iran towards the origin of the threat,” the Guards said in a statement. -Reuters

British 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, the country’s Ministry of Defence said late Saturday.

“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. -Reuters

Iran said on Sunday it will not hesitate to take further “defensive measures” to protect its interests against any military aggression, the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Iran, if necessary, will not hesitate to take further defensive measures to safeguard its legitimate interests against any military aggressions and unlawful use of force,” it said, according to state TV, “while reaffirming its commitment to the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.” -Reuters