The United States and European allies called on Iran to “back off” on Monday as fears grew of an imminent attack on Israel that could spark a full-blown war in the Middle East.
Tensions are rising in the region as the United States has sent a missile submarine and an aircraft carrier group there to show support for its key ally.
Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah have vowed to avenge the killing of the political leader of the Palestinian group Hamas in Tehran and a Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
International efforts have intensified to prevent an Iranian attack, US President Joe Biden and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Britain warned Tehran in a joint statement on Monday.
“We called on Iran to abandon its threats of military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security if such an attack were to occur,” he said after the talks on Monday.
The White House warned that “large-scale attacks” by Iran and its allies were possible this week, and said Israel shared a similar assessment.
As this intense diplomacy continued, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer both urged Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to de-escalate tensions.
But Pezeshkian said on Monday that his country “reserves the right to respond to aggressors.”
Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was in Tehran for the swearing-in of a new Iranian president last month when Haniyeh was killed in an attack that Iran blamed on Israel.
A day earlier, Israel had killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, creating tension in the region.
– ‘There’s no more time to waste’ –
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said his country was “ready to immediately thwart any threat” but added that he was not aware of reports that Iran was planning to attack in the next 24 hours.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Galant said the country has bolstered its security and prepared “offensive options” because “threats could emanate from Tehran and Beirut.”
Meanwhile, Washington and four European countries have stepped up their calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying the conflict sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 is the root cause of tensions in the Middle East.
He backed calls by Biden and the leaders of Egypt and Qatar for renewed talks between Israel and Hamas this Thursday, “and stressed that there is no more time to lose.”
He also called for “uninterrupted” aid delivery to devastated Gaza.
Pressure to end fighting in the Gaza Strip and for Hamas to release its hostages grew after the militant group’s armed wing said it had killed one Israeli captive and wounded two others in “incidents”.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement that two of its fighters assigned to guard the hostages had opened fire on them in two separate incidents and that a committee had been formed to investigate.
Hamas has urged mediators to implement a ceasefire plan previously presented by Biden rather than hold further talks.
But Israel has accepted invitations from the United States, Qatar and Egypt to send negotiators.
“We are doing this so that the details of the implementation of the framework agreement can be finalised,” Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said at a news conference.
– ‘Stop this war’ –
Pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza grew after civil defence rescue workers in the Hamas-run territory said Israeli air strikes on a school for displaced Palestinians on Saturday killed 93 people.
Israel said it targeted militants operating from a school and a mosque.
On Monday, witnesses told AFP that Israel carried out airstrikes on Khan Younis and Rafah. Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian group fighting alongside Hamas in Gaza, said its militants were battling Israeli troops in Khan Younis.
In the Nusserat refugee camp in central Gaza, Suheil Abu Batihan said Israeli bombardment was “creating terror” among residents, calling on mediators and “the world … to intervene to stop this war.”
The Gaza war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also took 251 people captive, 111 of whom are still being held in Gaza, 39 of whom the military says are dead.
At least 39,897 people have been killed in retaliatory military attacks in Gaza, according to Israel’s Health Ministry, although the ministry did not give a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
