Calls for calm after Israeli strikes hit Iran

World leaders urged calm yesterday after Israel conducted a pre-dawn strike on Iran following a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks which crossed an important red line that has for decades held the Middle East back from a major regional conflict.

- Julian Borger, Peter Beaumont 

There were tentative hopes late yesterday that the apparent strike attempt against an airbase near the city of Isfahan was suffi ciently limited to fend off the threat of a bigger Iranian response and an uncontrolled spiral of violence between a nuclear power and a state with the capacity to develop nuclear weapons quickly.

According to Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani , the US told the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Capri that it had received “last- minute” information from Israel about a drone action in Iran. Israel’s N12 news channel reported that Israel had also struck targets in Iraq and Syria, and explosions were reported in both those countries.

Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir- Abdollahian , said the attack on Isfahan had involved miniature drones and caused no damage or casualties. “The Zionist regime’s media supporters, in a desperate eff ort, tried to make victory out of their defeat, while the downed minidrones have not caused any damage or casualties,” Amir- Abdollahian told envoys of Muslim nations during a visit to the UN in New York, according to Iranian media. Tehran indicated that it had no “immediate” plan for retaliation.