The United States urged Iran on Saturday to stop attacking Israel to break the cycle of violence after Israel launched strikes against the Islamic Republic in retaliation for a missile barrage.
"We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation," US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett told reporters.
The Israeli military conducted air strikes against Iran on Saturday, hitting military bases, missile sites, and other systems in several regions.
"Their response was an exercise in self-defense and specifically avoided populated areas and focused solely on military targets, contrary to Iran's attack against Israel that targeted Israel's most populous city," he added.
Stressing that the United States did not participate in the operation, he said "it is our aim to accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region."
A senior administration official said President Joe Biden and his national security team have worked with the "Israelis over recent weeks to encourage Israel to conduct a response that was targeted and proportional with low risk of civilian harm."
"And that appears to have been precisely what transpired this evening," the official told reporters.
President Biden had encouraged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "to design a response that served to deter further attacks against Israel while reducing risks of further escalation, and that is our objective."
The Israeli military said its strikes hit Iran's missile manufacturing facilities, missile arrays, and other systems in several regions.
Furthermore, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday Iran should not respond to the Israeli strikes, urging restraint on all sides.
“I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression. I'm equally clear that we need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. Iran should not respond,” he said, speaking at a press conference in Samoa, where he has been attending a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
“Violation of sovereignty”
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has issued a statement condemning this morning's strikes against Iran, describing them as a violation of Iranian sovereignty and international law.
Without explicitly naming Israel, the Saudi Foreign Ministry urged restraint from all parties and called on the international community to work toward de-escalation and ending regional conflicts.
The timing is significant given the complex diplomatic landscape between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
The two nations have never established formal diplomatic relations, and recent US-led efforts to normalize ties were derailed following Hamas's October 7 attack in southern Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
In a similar vein, Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, at war with Israel in Gaza, said on Saturday that it strongly condemned the Israeli strikes.
“We... condemn in the strongest terms the Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the targeting of military sites in several provinces," the movement said in a statement, calling the move “a blatant violation of Iranian sovereignty and an escalation that threatens the security of the region.”
“Limited damage”
Iran confirmed an Israeli attack had targeted military sites in the capital Tehran and other parts of the country, but said it had caused "limited damage."
Israel had vowed to hit back at Iran for its October 1 missile strike, the second-ever direct attack by the Islamic republic on its arch-foe.
The rapid escalation of violence has heightened fears across the region and beyond of a wider war, pitting Israel against Iran and the allies it dubs the “axis of resistance” on multiple fronts.
“Based on intelligence, IAF (air force) aircraft struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the State of Israel over the last year,” Israel's military said in a statement.
“Simultaneously, the Israeli military struck surface-to-air missile arrays and additional Iranian aerial capabilities,” the army said, adding that the “retaliatory strike has been completed and the mission was fulfilled.”
With AFP
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