Mon | Sep 15, 2025

Israel, Iran play down apparent Israeli strike

- The muted responses could calm tensions — for now

Published:Saturday | April 20, 2024 | 12:08 AM
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Iranian worshippers chant slogans during an anti-Israeli gathering after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 19, 2024. An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morni
AP
Iranian worshippers chant slogans during an anti-Israeli gathering after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 19, 2024. An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
Volunteer troops of the Iranian army march during Army Day parade at a military base in northern Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. In the parade, President Ebrahim Raisi warned that the “tiniest invasion” by Israel would bring a “massive and h
AP
Volunteer troops of the Iranian army march during Army Day parade at a military base in northern Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. In the parade, President Ebrahim Raisi warned that the “tiniest invasion” by Israel would bring a “massive and harsh” response, as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation after Iran’s attack over the weekend.
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JERUSALEM (AP):

Israel and Iran on Friday both played down an apparent Israeli airstrike near a major air base and nuclear site in central Iran, signalling the two bitter enemies are ready to prevent their latest eruption of violence from escalating into a full-blown regional war.

But the indecisive outcome of weeks of tensions – which included an alleged Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals, an unprecedented Iranian missile barrage on Israel, and the apparent Israeli strike early Friday in the heart of Iran – did little to resolve the deeper grievances between the foes and left the door open to further fighting.

“It appears we’re closer than ever to a broad regional war, despite the fact that the international community will most likely make a great effort to de-escalate tensions,” wrote Amos Harel, the military-affairs commentator for the Israeli daily Haaretz.

Israel has long considered Iran to be its greatest enemy – citing the Islamic Republic’s calls for Israel’s destruction, its controversial nuclear programme, and its support for hostile proxies across the Middle East.

These tensions have risen since Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Iranian-backed Palestinian groups, attacked Israel on October 7, sparking a devastating Israeli offensive in Gaza that has continued for more than six months. Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed proxy in Lebanon, immediately began striking Israeli targets, opening up tit-for-tat fighting along a second front, while Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, Syria and Yemen have also fired missiles and drones at Israel throughout the war.

While Israel and Iran have waged a shadow war for years, mostly in neighbouring Syria, they have largely avoided direct confrontations. That changed after an April 1 airstrike killed two Iranian generals at an Iranian diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Although Israel did not comment, Iran blamed Israel for the strike and vowed revenge.

Iran responded with its first-ever direct attack on Israel, launching over 300 missiles and attack drones late Saturday night. Israel, working with a US-led international coalition, said it intercepted 99 per cent of the incoming fire, though a handful of missiles managed to land, causing minor damage to an Israeli military base and seriously wounding a young girl.

State television described all Iranian atomic sites in the areas as being “fully safe”. The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, also said there was “no damage” to Iran’s nuclear sites.

Israel also had no comment on the apparent attack, though one hard-line government minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, hinted at his dissatisfaction with a one-word tweet early Friday, using a slang word for weak or lame.