August 17, 2024
Israeli Foreign
Minister Israel Katz has said his country expects not only the United States
but also its allies, including Britain and France, to assist in offensive
operations against Iran, in the event of a direct conflict.
Katz made the
comments during a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and French
Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourne in Jerusalem on Friday, according to a
Hebrew-language statement from his office.
”Israel expects
France and Britain to publicly clarify to Iran that it is unacceptable for it
to attack Israel, and that if Iran attacks, the US-led coalition will join
Israel not only in defense but also in an attack against significant targets in
Iran,” the statement said, as cited by the Times of Israel.
Katz reiterated
in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that he made it “clear” to his colleagues
that they should publicly declare that their countries “will stand with Israel
not only in defense but also in striking targets in Iran.”
The French and
British diplomats downplayed these assertions, with Sejourne telling reporters
that it would be “inappropriate” to discuss any “retaliation or preparation for
an Israeli retaliation” amid diplomatic efforts to negotiate a deal to end the
Gaza war. A joint French-British statement following the meeting also made no
mention of any anti-Iran coalitions.
“We have urged
Iran and its proxies to stand down the ongoing threats of military attack
against Israel. We have also stressed to all parties that the spiral of
escalating reprisals must end,” they said in their only reference to Tehran.
The meeting in
Jerusalem occurred shortly before the latest round of indirect ceasefire talks
ended without breakthroughs, although there were promises to return to the
negotiating table next week.
The war between
Israel and Hamas has raged for 10 months since the militant group staged a
deadly incursion, resulting in approximately 1,100 deaths and around 200
hostages. The large-scale Israeli ground and air response has claimed over
40,000 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza health officials.
The risk of a
wider conflict in the Middle East was exacerbated by the assassination of Hamas
Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh, who served as the Palestinian armed
group’s lead negotiator in indirect talks with Israel. He was killed in Tehran
on June 31, hours after attending the inauguration of Masoud Pezeshkian as
Iran's president. Iran promised to inflict a “harsh punishment” on Israel,
which has neither acknowledged nor denied any involvement in the killing.
Iran has
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The US has
deployed additional warships and a submarine to the Middle East to protect the
Jewish state from potential attacks, but it remains unclear whether Washington
supports any plans to bomb Iran.
In April, when
Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for the
bombing of its embassy in Damascus, US fighter jets and warships helped
intercept many of the incoming projectiles. However, this was a purely
defensive operation, with no direct counterstrike on targets inside Iran.
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