Israeli Amb. to U.S.: ‘Iran will not have a nuclear path to a nuclear bomb'
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter talks with CNN's Wolf Blitzer about why his country launched a preemptive strike against Iran and weighs in on whether there is still a chance for diplomacy.
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How Britain could be dragged into the Israel-Iran conflict
It was the moment that Benjamin Netanyahu had awaited for decades: at 3am on Friday, the Israeli prime minister's forces launched a massive attack on Iran, aiming to wipe out swathes of its nuclear weapons programme. Israel said its goal was to 'roll back' Tehran's programme, which it considers an existential threat, and has signalled that more strikes will follow, which could destroy the nuclear project altogether. But as the dust settles following Israel's initial salvo of air strikes, the risk of this operation unleashing an all-out regional war – and one that could even drag in Britain – looks higher than ever. On Friday night, Iran unleashed dozens of Iranian ballistic missiles towards Israel, the IDF said, with explosions heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and at least two civilians killed. Credit: X Iran's foreign ministry has signalled that it will retaliate, not only against Israel but also the United States, which it says 'approved' the attack and serves as Israel's 'primary patron'. 'The US government, as the primary patron of this regime, will also bear responsibility for the dangerous repercussions of the Zionist regime's reckless actions,' it warned. Those words could open the door to a large-scale Iranian response against US military bases in the Middle East, including those in Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE. Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior Middle East analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said: 'This is the biggest military attack Iran has faced since the war with Iraq in the 1980s, and is being viewed by Iran as a declaration of war. 'In Iran's view, there is no way that the Netanyahu government acted without a US green light.' Mr Netanyahu confirmed this on Friday, saying that Israel informed the United States about its plans to attack Iran before carrying them out. Credit: Reuters On Friday, The New York Times reported that the US government would 'soon' send additional fighter jets to the Middle East, suggesting that the Trump administration expects attacks shortly from Iran or its proxies that will require a military response. US officials said that the Pentagon is also 'positioning warships and other military assets' in the region to protect American troops from a possible attack. The Iranian statement also claimed that 'grave and far-reaching consequences' will be inflicted on Mr Netanyahu's 'supporters' – raising the possibility that key allies Britain and France might be dragged into regional conflict as well. While the UK is not currently planning to take part in defending Israel from Iranian counter-attacks, Iran's allusion to Western 'supporters' suggests that British military bases in the region could also be considered legitimate targets by Tehran as it draws up plans for retaliation. The UK has air bases in Qatar, the UAE, Oman and Cyprus, as well as a naval support facility in Bahrain. There is already a precedent for the UK launching air strikes on Iran's proxies, such as in April when the RAF used Typhoon jets to strike Houthi drone production sites in Yemen. If Iran were to target UK military sites as part of a wider assault on Israel and its key allies, Britain could react in kind by striking Iranian targets with fighter jets from one of its Gulf state bases, which are on the other side of the Persian Gulf from Iran. Tehran will be under immense pressure to respond forcefully to the latest attack, and says the US will soon 'receive a forceful slap'. But the regime has been left weakened by a string of catastrophic blows over the past two years to its main proxy groups and regional allies, and will be carefully weighing its options for a response. Hezbollah, the regime's biggest proxy group in Lebanon, was decimated by Israel last year, and its closest regional ally, Bashar al-Assad in Syria, was overthrown in December. On Friday, Hezbollah announced that it will not retaliate against Israel on Iran's behalf, underlining how severely it has been weakened by a wave of Israeli airstrikes and pager-bomb attacks, which decapitated its leadership and most senior commanders. In Yemen, the Houthi militia group recently halted its attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea under a ceasefire deal with Washington, and may be reluctant to break that deal only for the sake of rushing to Iran's defences. But experts say that if the Houthis break that ceasefire and rejoin the fray, it could significantly increase the likelihood of British involvement, due to a need to prevent a repeat of the havoc that Houthi strikes caused for trade vessels in the Red Sea in 2023 and 2024. Dr Burcu Ozcelik, a senior fellow from the Royal United Services Institute security think tank, said: 'Any such move would reverberate far beyond Yemen, threatening maritime security in the Red Sea and risking direct entanglement of the US and UK in a widening regional conflict.'In Moscow, Iran's strongest ally, officials have released a lukewarm response to the Israeli operation, which expressed 'concern' about the 'cynical' aggression – hardly a rallying cry to join Tehran in a regional war. In other words, Tehran is diplomatically isolated at present, which could reduce the risk of other key global players, other than the US, being dragged into the fighting. John Foreman, a former UK defence attache to Moscow, said Vladimir Putin was unlikely to get drawn into a Middle Eastern conflict in defence of his Iranian allies. 'Russia's relationship with the UAE and Saudi Arabia is probably more important to it. Iran has always been under the cosh, and now I don't think Russia wants to be between the Americans and the Iranians,' he said. He added that much of the Russian military support that was expected to be given to Tehran as thanks for drone shipments for Putin's war on Ukraine has not materialised. 'If you look at what Russia has given Iran, it has never given them the advanced fighters or the advanced air defence that Iran probably needed,' he said. As for a counter-attack coming directly from Iran, this could involve ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel and US assets in the region. Previous waves of Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel, in April and October 2024, caused limited damage, in large part due to air defence and interception provided by Western allies, including the UK. But there is a key difference: Iran's April salvo was responding to Israel bombing an Iranian embassy complex in Damascus, while October's was a response to Israel killing Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, and Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader. Those previous escalations pale in comparison to Friday's direct attacks on Iranian soil, which have not only severely damaged Iran's nuclear facilities but also wiped out some of the country's most senior military commanders – including the chief of staff of the armed forces. Credit: @fararunews / Telegram Iran may also consider asymmetrical forms of retaliation such as cyber-attacks or harassing shipping assets in the Strait of Hormuz to drive up oil prices. Renewed action from Israel in the coming days that goes even further than Friday's attack, and which might occur before Iran manages to respond to the first round, cannot be ruled out. On Friday afternoon, Israel continued to pummel Iran with air strikes targeting surface-to-surface missile launch sites, no doubt seeking to limit Iran's capacity to respond. As of Saturday, Israel appeared to have severely damaged, but not completely demolished, Iran's Natanz site, the main nuclear facility. It targeted other key sites such as the Fordow enrichment facility near Tehran, but not the Isfahan nuclear technology centre, which employs thousands of nuclear scientists. Credit: Reuters The name of Israel's operation – Rising Lion – may even be an allusion to pre-Revolution Iran, as the lion is a symbol of the Iranian monarchy that was overthrown in 1979. This potentially hints that Israel's true goal goes far beyond suppressing the Iranian nuclear programme and could envisage the downfall of the Islamic Republic. If Israel's operation expands even further – and Donald Trump has suggested that it will unless Iran comes to the negotiating table – it could be considered by Iran to not just be a dire threat, but an existential one. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
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Israel targets Iran's military capabilities
Israel targeted Iran's air defences and missile launchers on Saturday as it pressed its bid to dismantle its arch-foe's military capabilities, after a night of mutual attacks. Israel's massive strikes on Iran, which it calls an existential threat, have hit nuclear and military facilities, killed top commanders and dozens of civilians, and sought to destroy the country's defence capabilities. Iran has hit back with volleys of missiles that lit up the night sky over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, killing three people and wounding dozens. Following decades of enmity and conflict by proxy, it is the first time that Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, with fears of a prolonged conflict engulfing the region. Israel began striking Iran early Friday in an operation it has dubbed "Rising Lion", and has since killed several top Iranian generals including senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guards' air arm. On Saturday, Israel's military said it was striking dozens of missile launchers in Iran after announcing it had targeted air defences with a wave of strikes in the Tehran area. Two senior Iranian generals have been killed in Israeli strikes, Iranian state television reported Saturday, as Israel kept up its assault. Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said Friday that 78 people had been killed and 320 wounded in the first wave of strikes by Israel. Iran called on its citizens to unite in defence of the country as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged them to rise up against their government. Air raid sirens and explosions rang out across Israel through the night, with many residents holed up in bomb shelters until home defence commanders stood down alerts. - 'Smoke, dust' - Israel said dozens of missiles -- some intercepted -- had been fired in the latest salvos from Iran, with AFP images of the city of Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv showing blown-out buildings, destroyed vehicles and streets strewn with debris. Israeli rescuers said two people were killed and 19 wounded on Saturday by rocket fire on a residential area in the coastal plain. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked dozens of targets in Israel. Israeli firefighters had worked for hours to free people trapped in a high-rise building in Tel Aviv on Friday. Resident Chen Gabizon told AFP he ran to an underground shelter after receiving an alert. "After a few minutes, we just heard a very big explosion, everything was shaking, smoke, dust, everything was all over the place," he said. Rescuers said 34 people were wounded in the Gush Dan area, including a woman who later died of her injuries, according to Israeli media reports. Speaking to CNN, Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said Iran had fired three salvos of ballistic missiles on Friday, some 150 in total. "We expect that the Iranians, who have a considerable volume of ballistic missiles, somewhere in the neighbourhood of 2,000, will continue to fire them," Leiter said. In Tehran, fire and heavy smoke billowed over Mehrabad airport early Saturday, an AFP journalist said, as Iranian media reported an explosion. Blasts were heard across the capital as Iran activated its air defences against the incoming fire. Dozens of Iranians took to the streets to cheer their country's military response, with some waving national flags and chanting anti-Israel slogans. - 'Time to stop' - The attacks prompted several countries in the region to temporarily ground air traffic, though on Saturday morning, Jordan reopened its airspace. Iran's airspace was closed until further notice, state media reported. As fears mounted of wider conflict, UN chief Antonio Guterres called on both sides to cease fire. "Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail," he said on X late Friday. US officials said they were helping Israel defend against the missile attacks, even as Washington insisted it had nothing to do with Israel's strikes on Iran. US President Donald Trump agreed in a call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that "dialogue and diplomacy" were needed to calm the crisis, Starmer's office said. Trump also spoke with the Israeli prime minister, US officials said without elaborating. In a televised address, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to bring Israel "to ruin". The conflict has thrown into doubt plans for a fresh round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran in Oman on Sunday. After the first wave of strikes on Friday, Trump urged Iran to "make a deal", adding that Washington was "hoping to get back to the negotiating table". The United States and other Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, an ambition it has consistently denied. Iran said on Saturday its participation in the Oman talks remained "unclear". "It is still unclear what decision we will make for Sunday," the official IRNA news agency reported, citing foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. Baqaei had called the talks "meaningless" in view of the Israeli strikes, which he alleged were carried out with "US permission". bur-ser/kir
