(CN) — The world anxiously watched tensions escalate in the Middle East on Friday after U.S. officials said Israel launched a limited early-morning strike against Iranian military targets.
Israel's apparent strike was seen as retaliation for a massive Iranian barrage of missiles and drones against Israel last weekend. Tehran's unprecedented attack was in response to Israel's April 1 deadly airstrike on an Iranian consulate in Syria.
The extent of damage from Friday's strike was unclear but appeared minor, with Iranian officials saying its air defenses shot down three drones. U.S. media reported that a military air base near Isfahan in central Iran was hit. Blasts were also reported in Syria and Iraq, countries with Iranian-allied militias.
Tehran said it had no immediate plan to retaliate even though its foreign ministry previously said it would hit back hard if Israel attacked its territory. By Friday, Tehran had not blamed Israel for the attack and instead accused “infiltrators” of launching the drones.
World leaders called for calm and appealed for an end to escalation.
“The Middle East is on a precipice. The international community must work together to prevent any actions that could push the entire region over the edge,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. “It is high time to end the bloody cycle of retaliation. It is high time to stop.”
Meeting in Capri, Italy, Western foreign ministers with the Group of Seven nations issued a statement urging “all parties to work to prevent further escalation.” Russia and China also called for calm.
But even as the West called for restraint, it was seen as further fueling the conflict on Thursday by imposing new sanctions on Iran and with the United States vetoing a Palestinian request for full U.N. membership.
Still, the hope was that Israel had initiated a surgical small-scale strike that would be treated as more symbolic than threatening and actually lead to deescalation. Oil prices surged early Friday before they retreated, reflecting this possibility.
“On the surface, it appears rather limited, beyond the symbolic significance of Israel hitting Iranian territory,” said Gregory Brew, an Iran analyst at Eurasia Group, a political risk firm, in a briefing note.
Brew said Israel may have succeeded in hitting back at Iran “without triggering further escalation.”
“It’s early,” Brew said. “But the official regime line may be that this is not an action that requires immediate and public retaliation.”
Still, the Middle East conflagration shows no sign of calming and continues to add to worsening global instability.
On Thursday and Friday, Israel continued to carry out attacks on Palestinians in the occupied territories on the West Bank and struck targets in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to push forward with an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah in defiance of international calls, including from the White House, to hold off. More than 1.4 million Palestinians have taken refuge in Rafah and there are fears an Israeli assault would gravely worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Western support for Israel remains steadfast, despite widespread global condemnation of Israel's actions in Gaza. On Thursday, the U.S. was the lone vote on the U.N. Security Council vetoing a Palestinian request for full membership to the United Nations.
Also Thursday, the U.S. and its European allies imposed new sanctions on Iran, this time targeting its missile and drone programs. Western allies said the sanctions were a response to Iran's attack on Israel, which they condemned.
The West has largely stayed silent on Israel's airstrike on Iran's consulate in Syria, which killed 16 people including several Iranian military officials.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah militias in Lebanon have stepped up their attacks on northern Israel and Houthi rebels say they are expanding their operations in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea to target commercial ships with ties to Israel.
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.
Follow @cainburdeau
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