The latest | Iran president warns of “massive” response if Israel launches “the smallest invasion”

Iran’s president warned that a “smaller invasion” by Israel would bring a “massive and harsh” response, as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation following Iran’s weekend attack.

President Ebrahim Raisi spoke on Wednesday during an annual army parade that has been moved to a barracks north of the capital, Tehran, from its usual location on a highway on the city’s southern outskirts. The Iranian authorities did not give any explanation for their relocation and state television did not broadcast it live, as it did in previous years.

Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend in response to an apparent Israeli attack on Iran’s embassy complex in Syria on April 1 that killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals.

Israel, with help from the United States, the United Kingdom, neighboring Jordan and other nations, has successfully intercepted almost all of the missiles and drones.

Tensions in the region have risen since the start of the last war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two Iranian-backed militant groups, carried out a cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250. others. Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,800 people, according to local health officials.

At the moment:

– British envoy says Israel is ‘taking decision to act’ as Iran vows to respond to any incursion

— UN appeals for $2.8 billion to help 3 million Palestinians who desperately need food and other aid

— Israel promises to retaliate against Iran, risking further expanding its parallel war

Here’s the latest:

JERUSALEM — UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron says “it is clear that the Israelis are making the decision to act” against Iran, but he hopes it will do so “in a way that is smart and tough and that also do as little as possible to escalate the escalation of violence.” this conflict.”

Cameron arrived in Israel on Wednesday for meetings with senior Israeli and Palestinian officials.

He said his main objective was to “turn the world’s attention to the hostage situation” and urged Hamas to agree to a temporary ceasefire agreement.

Cameron told broadcasters that “the real need is to refocus on Hamas, on the hostages, on getting help, on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza.”

Cameron is due to travel from the Middle East to a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers in Italy. He said he wanted the group of wealthy industrialized nations to “show a united front” and impose coordinated sanctions on Iran in response to its “malign activity” in the region.

“They need to get a clear and unambiguous message from the G7 and I hope that happens over the weekend,” Cameron said.

JERUSALEM — Human Rights Watch says Israeli forces participated in or failed to prevent settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, which displaced hundreds of people from several Bedouin communities last fall.

Settler violence increased following the October 7 Hamas attack that triggered the war in Gaza, leading to the complete uprooting of at least seven Palestinian Bedouin communities and the displacement of several others, according to the rights group with headquarters in New York.

Settlers launched another wave of attacks late last week after a 14-year-old Israeli boy was killed in what Israeli authorities say was a militant attack. The United Nations human rights office on Tuesday called on Israeli security forces to “immediately end their active participation in and support of settler attacks on Palestinians.”

The Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday focused on the earlier wave of violence. The human rights group claims that Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, stole their belongings and livestock and threatened to kill them if they did not leave permanently. The settlers also destroyed homes and schools.

The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s president warned that a “smaller invasion” by Israel would bring a “massive and harsh” response, as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation following Iran’s weekend attack.

President Ebrahim Raisi spoke on Wednesday during an annual army parade that has been moved to a barracks north of the capital, Tehran, from its usual location on a highway on the city’s southern outskirts. The Iranian authorities did not give any explanation for their relocation and state television did not broadcast it live, as it did in previous years.

Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend in response to an apparent Israeli attack on Iran’s embassy complex in Syria on April 1 that killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals.

Israel, with help from the United States, the United Kingdom, neighboring Jordan and other nations, has successfully intercepted almost all of the missiles and drones.

Israel has vowed to respond, without saying when or how, while its allies have called on all parties to avoid further escalation.

Raisi said Saturday’s attack was limited and that if Iran wanted to carry out a larger attack, “nothing would be left of the Zionist regime.” His remarks were carried by the official news agency IRNA.

Israel and Iran have been fighting a parallel war for decades, but the weekend attack was the first direct Iranian military attack on Israel.

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations is appealing for $2.8 billion to provide desperately needed aid to 3 million Palestinians, underlining that combating the looming famine in war-torn Gaza requires not only food, but also sanitation, water and health facilities.

Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN humanitarian office for Gaza and the West Bank, told journalists on Tuesday that “massive operations” are needed to restore these services and meet minimum standards – and this cannot be done during military operations.

He pointed to the destruction of hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, homes, roads and schools, adding that “there is not a single university in Gaza.” De Domenico said there are signs of “good intentions” from Israel in bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza, but the UN continues to put pressure on it because it is not enough. He pointed to Israeli denials and delays in UN requests for aid convoys to enter Gaza.

The UN humanitarian chief called for a complete shift in focus to recognize that famine prevention goes beyond providing flour for bread or pita and to recognize that “water, sanitation and health are fundamental to curbing hunger”.

WASHINGTON — Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani says he has pressed President Joe Biden on the need “for all parties to calm down” as the conflict threatens to escalate further between Iran and U.S. ally Israel .

Al-Sudani spoke to reporters Tuesday night during a visit to Washington that included talks with Biden at the White House on Monday.

Saturday’s drone and missile launches by Iran against Israel, including some that flew over Iraqi airspace and others that were launched from Iraq by Iranian-backed groups, underscored the delicate relationship between Washington and Baghdad.

Al-Sudani said Iraq, like some other Arab nations, had tried unsuccessfully to dissuade Iran from attacks on Israel. Iran’s attack was in retaliation for an alleged Israeli attack that killed senior Iranian military leaders at the Iranian embassy compound in Syria.

Al-Sudani said the decision to allow Iraqi airspace or soil to be used in any future attacks between Israel and Iran rests with Iraq.

Iraqis “reaffirmed that Iraq is an independent and sovereign nation,” he said. “We do not want to be part of this conflict. We discussed this with Iran and with Biden.”