Iran-Israel live updates:  Netanyahu dragging region into war — Türkiye

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

1725 GMT — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has accused Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of taking advantage of regional tensions "to stay in power".

"It is clear that Netanyahu is trying to drag the region into war to stay in power," Fidan told a news conference in Qatar, more than six months into the Israel's war in Gaza.

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1607 GMT — EU ministers back new sanctions on those arming Israel's foes: Italy

European foreign ministers want to impose new sanctions on those who arm Israel's foes and those who attack ships in the Red Sea, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has said.

"There was a unanimous consensus that sanctions should be imposed on all those who give drones, weapons and missiles to those who attack Israel and those who attack ships in the Red Sea," Tajani said, speaking the day after a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Tajani said the issue of sanctions would also be addressed during a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers that he is due to chair over the coming three days in the Italian island of Capri.

1559 GMT — Iran attack on Israel 'legitimate and deserved': Hamas

Palestinian group Hamas has said that Iran's weekend attack on Israel was a "legitimate and deserved" response to a strike on the Tehran's consulate in Syria.

In its first reaction to the Iranian aerial attack, Hamas said it was a "legitimate and deserved response to the Zionist entity's... targeting of the Iranian consulate building in Damascus" on April 1.

"The response from the Islamic Republic of Iran confirms that the time when the Zionist entity (Israeli) could act as it wanted without accountability or punishment has ended," Hamas added in a statement.

1547 GMT — EU should extend sanctions on Iran, target drone makers: Macron

Europe should widen its sanctions regime on Iran, French President Emmanuel Macron said ahead of an EU leaders' summit in Brussels.

Macron added that sanctions should target entities involved in the production of drones and missiles in particular.

European Union leaders will meet on Wednesday to discuss stepping up sanctions against Iran after Tehran's missile and drone attack on Israel.

1220 GMT — Israel will do everything needed to defend itself: Netanyahu

Netanyahu has thanked the visiting foreign ministers of Germany and Britain for their support but said Israel would reach its own decisions on its security.

"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.

1214 GMT — Raisi warns Tel Aviv of 'massive, harsh' response

Iran’s president has warned that the "tiniest invasion" by Israel would bring a "massive and harsh" response, as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation after Iran’s attack over the weekend.

President Ebrahim Raisi spoke at an annual army parade that was relocated to a barracks north of the capital, Tehran, from its usual venue on a highway in the city’s southern outskirts.

Iranian authorities gave no explanation for its relocation, and state television didn't broadcast it live, as it has in previous years.

1021 GMT — Israel under pressure to refrain from striking Iran after attack

Israel faced pressure from its allies to refrain from striking back at Iran for its unprecedented missile and drone attack as Washington and Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions against Tehran.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock were the first Western envoys to visit Israel and urge calm after Iran's weekend attack, against which Israel has vowed to retaliate.

Cameron said: "We're very anxious to avoid escalation and to say to our friends in Israel: It's a time to think with head as well as heart, and in many ways this is a double defeat for Iran.

"Not only was their attack an almost total failure but also the rest of the world can now see what a malign influence they are in the region," Cameron told Times Radio.

0105 GMT — US could curb Iranian FM's NY travel

The US State Department has signalled that it could restrict the movements of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian if he visits New York to attend a UN Security Council meeting.

"Should the foreign minister of Iran attend this meeting at the United Nations, I would not expect to see him in very many locations outside the United Nations," Spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters when asked if the US will restrict the Iranian minister's visa.

"You can expect very severe restrictions on his movements," Miller said when pressed. "We do have the ability to impose very severe restrictions on the movements of certain diplomats."

Iran's mission to the UN confirmed that Amir-Abdollahian will visit New York on Thursday to attend a Security Council meeting on Israel's war on Gaza.

2216 GMT — US to impose new Iran sanctions, expects allies to follow

The United States has said it will impose new sanctions on Iran's missile and drone programme after its weekend attack on Israel, and that it expects its allies and partners to follow with parallel measures.

"These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran's military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviours," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

For our live updates from Tuesday, April 16, click here.