German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock briefs the press at Ben Gurion International Airport on April 17, 2024 during her visit amid the ongoing war on Gaza. (Credit: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the visiting foreign ministers of Germany and Britain for their support on Wednesday but said Israel would reach its own decisions on its security.
“They have all sorts of suggestions and advice. I appreciate that. But I want to make it clear — we will make our own decisions, and the state of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself,” he said, according to a statement released by his office and cited by Israeli media.
The comment appears to be in response to international appeals for de-escalation, warning Israel against carrying out an attack on Iran that could trigger a regional war.
On April 1, Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing more than a dozen people, including senior Revolutionary Guards commanders. Tensions were high as retaliation seemed inevitable. Two weeks after the attack, on Saturday evening, Iran launched over 300 drones and missiles toward Israel, the first direct attack in the two countries' histories. The majority of the rockets and drones were intercepted. There were 12 injuries reported in Israel, no deaths, and minimal damage to two military bases, according to Israeli officials, cited by Haaretz.
Immediately following the attack, the Israeli war Cabinet met to discuss its next moves.
Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi warned from Tehran Wednesday morning that the smallest strike by Israel on Iranian soil would bring a “massive and harsh” response.
Iran insists its attack on Israel was limited and carried out in "self-defense" following the embassy strike in the Syrian capital.
According to a statement published by the president's office, if Iran had wanted to carry out a bigger attack, “there would be nothing left of the Zionist regime.”
Germany's stance
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she made clear during talks in Israel with Netanyahu and others that the Middle East must not be allowed to slide into a situation whose outcome is completely unpredictable, Reuters reported.
"Everyone must now act prudently and responsibly," said Baerbock before departing on Wednesday for a Group of Seven (G7) meeting during which, she said, leaders would discuss sanctions against Iran.
Baerbock was visiting Israel for the seventh time since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7.
Referring to further escalation, she said: "Because that would serve no one, not Israel's security, not the many dozens of hostages still in the hands of Hamas, not the suffering population of Gaza, not the many people in Iran who are themselves suffering under the regime, and not the third countries in the region who simply want to live in peace."
British stance
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron urged Israel not to retaliate after Iran's drone and missile attack, saying it should "think with head as well as heart" because, Cameron says, Tehran's strike had been a near total failure.
"I think they're perfectly justified to think they should respond because they have been attacked, but we are urging them as friends to think with head as well as heart, to be smart as well as tough," Cameron told BBC TV, cited by Reuters.
He said he was urging Israel not to escalate the tensions in the Middle East.
"In many ways this has been a double defeat for Iran. The attack was an almost total failure, and they revealed to the world that they are the malign influence in the region prepared to do this. So our hope is that there won't be a retaliatory response," he told Sky News.