Tel Aviv warned to hold fire

World leaders are braced for a wider Middle East war as Israel prepares to hit back at Iran for the weekend’s massive drone attacks.

The head of the Israeli military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, with members of the General Staff Forum at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv on Sunday. Picture: AFP

World leaders are braced for a wider Middle East war as Israel prepares to hit back at Iran for the weekend’s massive drone attacks and the US says it will not be part of any violent response.

The UN warned on Monday that the Middle East was “on the brink”, saying the region was “confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict”.

“Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate,” the UN secretary-­general, Antonio Guterres, told the body’s Security Council as it met to discuss Saturday’s Iranian attack in which more than 300 drones and missiles were fired towards ­Israel, injuring 12 people, the Israeli army said.

Air raid sirens wailed and Israelis sought cover in bunkers and shelters as missile defence systems and warplanes intercepted drones and missiles. US officials said American warplanes had brought down about 70 drones while US ships downed between four and six ballistic missiles.

A senior Biden administration official confirmed on Sunday that President Joe Biden had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would not offer military support for any retaliation on Iran.

“We would not be a part of any response they do,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We would not envision ourselves participating in such an act.”

Empty beaches in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya on Sunday after Iranian attacks on Israel the night before. Picture: AFP

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby earlier said: “We’re not looking for a wider war with Iran.”

The strikes raised Middle East tensions to a dangerous new level six months into a deadly conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, which began after the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack in Israel that resulted in the deaths of about 1200 people, mostly civilians.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed almost 34,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

“Neither the region nor the world can afford more war,” Mr Guterres said. “The Middle East is on the brink. The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict.”

Israel’s UN envoy, Gilad Erdan, urged the council to “impose all possible sanctions on Iran before it’s too late” and “condemn Iran for their terror”.

Iran’s UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, retorted that the Islamic republic was exercising its “inherent right to self-defence” and “had no choice” but to act. He insisted his country did “not seek escalation or war” but would respond to “threat or aggression”.

Iran said its attack came in ­response to a deadly April 1 airstrike on Tehran’s consulate building in the Syrian capital, Damascus, that was widely blamed on Israel.

That attack killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards, including two senior generals, and prompted Iranian threats of retaliation.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday cautioned Israel against a “reckless” retaliation, saying this would spark “a decisive and much stronger response”.

G7 leaders earlier said they were ready to “take further measures” in response to “destabilising initiatives”.

A boy rides a donkey near one of the batteries of Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system in the southern Negev desert on Sunday. Picture: AFP

Saturday’s attack marked a major escalation of the long-­running covert war between the ­regional foes. Almost all the Iranian drones and missiles were intercepted ­before they reached Israeli territory, the Israeli army said, with help from the US, Jordan, Britain and other allies.

Mr Kirby said it had been an “incredible effort by Israel”.

“But also it shows that Iran is not the military power weight that they claim to be,” he said.

He added that the US was “staying vigilant” to any Iranian threats to American troops.

“We made it very clear to all parties, including Iran, what we would do ... and also how seriously we would take any potential threats to our personnel,” Mr Kirby said.

The G7 group expressed its “full solidarity and support to Israel and its people and reaffirm our commitment towards its security”, the group said in a statement following video talks.

“We demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilising initiatives,” it said.

NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah said the military alliance condemned Iran’s attack and was “monitoring developments closely”, saying it was “vital that the conflict in the Middle East does not spiral out of control”.

Beijing also urged restraint, calling the attack “the latest spillover of the Gaza conflict” and calling for the implementation of a recent UN Security Council resolution demanding a ceasefire.

“China calls on the international community, especially countries with influence, to play a constructive role for the peace and stability of the region,” it said.

AFP