
Netanyahu
BBC: Israel seeks sanctions against Iran over missile programme


Israel is calling for sanctions to be imposed on Iran’s missile project after Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli territory

A wave of missiles and drones were fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen on Saturday, with most being downed by Israel and its allies
Israel’s war cabinet has met but not said what it plans to do – the military chief of staff said the attack would not go unanswered
Tehran said the attack was retaliation for the presumed Israeli air strike on its consulate in Syria on 1 April, in which 13 people were killed
Since the Israel-Gaza war erupted six months ago, Israel has ramped up its targeting of Iran over its funding and arming of Hamas
Meanwhile in Gaza, Israeli forces have begun a military operation in Beit Hanoun, a town in the north east of the strip
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that further escalation in the Middle East could have “catastrophic consequences”, during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi.
In a readout of the call, the Kremlin said Putin expressed hope that all sides would show “reasonable restraint” and “prevent a new round of confrontation fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region”.
The Kremlin added that Iran had requested the call.
The two countries are close allies. Separately, Russia is believed to be co-operating with Iran to improve its modern air defence systems and fighter jets in return for the military support Tehran has given Moscow in its war with Ukraine.
Israel should launch “the mother of all cyber-attacks” and take out Iran’s nuclear weapons programme, former US national security adviser John Bolton says.
He says one way Israel could deter Iran would be to make it “suffer a cost that would be so disproportionate that they don’t even think of attacking again”.
“Calling on Israel not to respond is reprehensible,” he tells the BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme, adding that the US and UK would do the same if they faced a similar threat.
“The idea of saying ‘take the win’ simply because the missiles and drones missed their target is like saying ‘hey you’re still alive, what’s the problem’…the problem is Israel’s under attack,” Bolton says.
“The next time Israel faces ballistic missiles from Iran, God forbid they may have a nuclear warhead on them.”