Iran Israel attack: UN ‘concerned’ Israel could strike Tehran’s nuclear facilities

Banning Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) could sever the UK’s direct diplomatic link with Tehran, a minister warned.

Rishi Sunak has come under renewed pressure to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation following Iran’s missile and drone barrage aimed at Israel.

But minister Laura Farris suggested Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron wanted to maintain the ability to speak directly to Iran, something which could be jeopardised if the military force was banned.

The UK is keen to preserve diplomatic ties with Tehran to minimise the risk of a miscalculation in the Middle East which could ignite a wider war.

Mr Sunak is set to urge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint in a call on Tuesday after the thwarting of the Iranian attack over the weekend.

Britain joined the US and other allies in shooting down Iranian attack drones on Saturday night, and has subsequently joined the US in urging calm in the region as the Israeli leader considers how to respond.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency director General Rafael Grossi was speaking to reporters in New York on Monday when he was asked about the threat to Iran’s nuclear facilities in the wake of speculations Israel will launch an attack in response to Saturday’s bombings.

Asked about the possibility of an Israel strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, Grossi says “We are always concerned about this possibility.” He urges “extreme restraint.”

The facilities were closed on Sunday over “security considerstions”, but reopened on Monday.

Iran’s main nuclear facilities are regularly inspected by the IAEA, and when asked if the closure would impact activity, Mr Grossi said: “We are going to resume tomorrow [Tuesday]

“This has not had an impact on our inspection activity.”

US air force fighter jet squadrons as well as navy ships in the Mediterranean Sea participated in the effort to take out Iranian missiles and drones, the Pengaton said.

Navy destroyers USS Carney and USS Arleigh Burke shot down missiles from the sea.

Maj Gen Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said yesterday that some additional fighter squadrons were moved into the region before the weekend, and they remain there.

He, however, did not identify the countries where they were based.

The US will “stay in close consultation with our Israeli partners, as we have done throughout the weekend. Again, we don’t seek wider regional conflict,” he told reporters.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin held calls with counterparts in the Middle East and Europe, expressing support for Israel after attacks from Iran but also stressing regional stability to prevent conflict from spreading, the Pentagon said.

Mr Austin told his counterparts that “while the United States does not seek escalation, we will continue to defend Israel and US personnel”, according to the Pentagon.

In the call with Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, Mr Austin expressed support for Israel’s defence and “reaffirmed the strategic goal of regional stability”.

“Whether or not Israel decides to retaliate against Iran is something for Israel to decide,” a Pentagon spokesperson told reporters yesterday.

Iran has been good for Benjamin Netanyahu over his long and successful political career. Israel’s prime minister has never been backward in blaming the Ayatollahs for a myriad of ills, and bemoaning that the West was not seeing the full danger from Tehran.

Netanyahu had gained political capital from portraying himself as “Mr Security”, protecting his country from Palestinian militants and their Iranian patrons.

Now, just as Israel was getting isolated internationally and facing unprecedented levels of censure from allies over its continuing Gaza onslaught, the mass air strike by Iran has handed him a great advantage.

The UN nuclear watchdog chief yesterday said he was concerned about Israel possibly targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.

His statement comes after Israel’s military chief said his country would respond to a weekend missile and drone attack by Iran, launched in retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus on 1 April.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi said Iran closed its nuclear facilities on Sunday over “security considerations” and that while they reopened on Monday, he kept IAEA inspectors away “until we see that the situation is completely calm”.

“We are going to resume tomorrow,” Mr Grossi told reporters in New York. “This has not had an impact on our inspection activity.”

When asked about the possibility of an Israel strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, Mr Grossi said: “We are always concerned about this possibility”. He urged “extreme restraint.”

Iran’s deputy foreign minister said Tehran would not wait for days and instead would respond to any fresh Israeli provocation within seconds.

“They should know that they will not have a 12-day-long times pace,” said Ali Bagheri Kani in a televised interview last night.

“The response that they are going to receive [this time around] cannot be measured by [such time standards as] days or hours, but [will come in a matter of] seconds,” he said, according to Mehr News.

His statement comes after Israel’s military chief Herzi Halevi said Iran’s attack on the country “will be met with a response”.

British prime minister Rishi Sunak said the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies were working on a package of coordinated measures against Iran.

“I spoke to my fellow G7 leaders, we are united in our condemnation of this attack,” Mr Sunak said in parliament yesterday.

Italy, which holds the rotating G7 presidency, said it was open to new sanctions and suggested any new measures would target individuals.

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said all G7 members would have to back new sanctions.