An escalation narrowly avoided – for now –. After Tehran’s unprecedented attack on Israel on the night of Saturday to Sunday, the Jewish state considered quickly carrying out retaliatory strikes but ultimately revised its plans, Israeli and American media said on the night of these attacks. Wednesday to Thursday April 18. According to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided not to implement pre-approved plans for retaliatory strikes in the event of an attack, after discussions with US President Joe Biden.
“Diplomatic sensitivities played a role. (…) There will be a response but it will be different from what was initially planned,” a senior official told the channel on condition of anonymity. Israeli sources also requesting anonymity told the American site Axios that the war cabinet had juggled during a meeting on Monday, the second after the Iranian attack, with the idea of giving the green light to strikes, without however ordering them.
“We do not know why and how imminent an attack (against Iran) was,” indicated to Axios an American official. According to this site, Israel indicated on Monday to the Biden administration, which urges it to exercise restraint, its decision to wait. According to the American channel ABC, the Israeli government twice considered strikes against Iran without taking action.
Benjamin Netanyahu nevertheless reiterated his country’s law on Wednesday “to protect oneself”, in the face of calls from the international community which is trying to prevent a response which could drag the Middle East into a spiral of conflicts. The United States, Israel’s unwavering ally, has said it does not want “an extended war with Iran” and maintained that they would not participate in an Israeli response, but announced on Tuesday that they would impose new sanctions against Tehran.
Ditto for the European Union which decided on Wednesday to target Iran with sanctions against drone and missile producers in order to “to send a clear message after the attack on Israel”, declared the President of the Council, Charles Michel.
