The World Briefly

April 22, 2024

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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian denied that Israel was behind a strike in central Iran this week, an attack that heightened worry over a regional war breaking out, while the United States approved a new aid package to the Jewish nation over the weekend, NBC News reported.

On Thursday, Israel conducted a strike on a military airfield near the Iranian city of Isfahan. Iranian officials said there were no casualties and the nuclear facilities in the area were not damaged.

Thursday’s attack followed a barrage of missiles and drones launched by Iran at Israel. That assault, although it caused little damage, marked the first time Tehran had staged an overt military attack on Israel.

The attack was in retaliation for a strike by Israel on an Iranian consular building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed two generals and five officers in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In an interview with NBC, Amirabdollahian countered that Thursday’s incident “was not a strike” and described the weapons used as “more like toys that our (children) play with – not drones.” He went on to say that Iran was not planning any retaliatory attacks unless Israel launched a significant attack.

He also called the April 13 missile and drone strike a “warning” to Israel.

Israeli officials did not comment on Thursday’s strike.

Both countries have been locked in a shadow war for years, but the recent military exchanges come amid the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which began after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas and its allies on southern Israel that killed more than 1,200 people and saw more than 240 taken hostage.

More than 34,000 people in Gaza have been killed in the conflict, the Guardian reported.

Amid the ongoing fighting, the international community has expressed concern about a major regional war between Israel, Iran and the latter’s proxies breaking out, prompting calls for deescalating tensions and a ceasefire. Talks in Egypt last week failed to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the US House of Representatives approved a $26.4 billion aid package for Israel, that includes about $9 billion for aid to Gaza, according to CBS News.

At the same time, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition announced this week it is organizing a flotilla departing from Turkey to Gaza, intending to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of the enclave to deliver aid, the Washington Post added.

The initiative seeks to draw attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has been exacerbated by obstacles to making deliveries by land. Despite potential opposition from Israel and regional governments, organizers are determined to proceed, highlighting the urgency of addressing the dire situation in Gaza, where residents face severe shortages of essential supplies.

Also over the weekend, thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv in what have become almost weekly protests, with demonstrators demanding new elections and the return of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, Reuters reported.

The protests reflect widespread anger directed at the government: Many blame Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu for the security failures prior to the Oct. 7 attack and for not doing more to return the more than 130 hostages still being held.

Netanyahu has ruled out early elections, saying it would only reward Hamas. Polls show he would lose.

This story originally appeared in the April 22, 2024 newsletter, My Enemy, Myself.