Calls for calm for the Middle East. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke on the telephone with his Iranian counterpart, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday April 15, specifying that Tehran had once again expressed its “will to restrain” after its unprecedented attack on Israeli territory. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, head of Iranian diplomacy, expressed to Beijing his wish not to aggravate the situation “very sensitive” in the region, warning nevertheless that any new attack against Iran’s interests or security would trigger a response “decisive, immediate and important”, warning the United States in particular. Follow our live stream.
The Israeli army promises reprisals. Israel will “respond to the launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles and drones on the territory of the State of Israel”, declared Monday evening, the chief of staff of the army, General Herzi Halevi, while visiting the Nevatim base, in the south of the country. The Israeli army spokesperson declared that the victims of the strike which targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 were “terrorists” engaged against Israel, thus providing the first official comment from the army on this strike.
Iran’s nuclear sites were temporarily closed during the attack. This was stated on Monday by the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, adding that their reopening was planned for Monday. “I have decided not to let the (IAEA) inspectors return until the situation is completely calm”, he revealed, while calling for restraint. Israel accuses Iran of wanting to acquire an atomic bomb, which Tehran denies, and says it is seeking by all means to prevent it.
France did intercept Iranian missiles. The French army carried out “interceptions” of Iranian missiles and drones targeting Israel during the night from Saturday to Sunday from Jordan, confirmed Monday Emmanuel Macron who wants “do everything to avoid conflagration” in the Middle-East. “We have an air base in Jordan (…) Jordanian airspace was violated by these shots. We took off our planes and we intercepted what we had to intercept,” declared the Head of State on BFMTV-RMC channels. By deciding to “hit Israel” from its soil, Iran provoked “a deep break”he also estimated.