April 14, 2024

Sunday, April 14,2024. Annette’s News Roundup.

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Special Roundup edition.

Joe is always busy.

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Standing with Israel against Iran.

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April 13/14, 2024. Israel.

Iran vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven Guards officers.

Then this happened.

Objects are seen in the sky above Jerusalem after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel, in Jerusalem, April 14, 2024.

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Sunday Iran launched more than 300 projectiles toward Israel, including launches from Yemen and Iraq, with 99% intercepted by Israeli air defenses outside of Israeli airspace. The Israel Airports Authority also announced early Sunday that as of 7:30 a.m., Israeli airspace had reopened. (Reuters).

US intercepts Iranian drones targeting

American forces have intercepted Iranian drones targeting Israel, according to a U.S. defense official.

The official said the U.S. continues to “shoot down Iranian-launched drones targeting Israel.”

“Our forces remain postured to provide additional defensive support and to protect U.S. forces operating in the region,” the official added.

Iran has launched a wave of drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation for an alleged Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, earlier this month.

The Damascus strike killed two senior Iranian officers, dealing a major blow to Tehran.

The British Royal Air Force have also deployed to the Middle East and are prepared to intercept any Iranian drones headed to Israel, said the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps.

“I strongly condemn the senseless airborne attacks Iran has launched on Israel,” Shapps said in a statement. 

Jordan’s air force has also shot down Iranian drones, according to Reuters. 

Iran’s Minister of Defense Mohammed Reza Ashtiani warned that there will be a “decisive response” to any country in the region that assists Israel in downing the Iranian drones and missiles, according to state-run media channel Press TV.

Israel is on high alert as it works to defend itself against the drones, and the U.S. had pre-positioned forces in the region ahead of the anticipated Iranian attack, which followed public threats from Tehran.

The Iranian attack began late Saturday night local time on Israel and is ongoing. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says sirens have sounded across the country, from the north to the south.The IDF says its forces, including fighter jets and the Iron Dome air defense system, are on high alert and defending the country.

Iran is expected to be targeting Israeli government and military sites. Iranian state-run media reported that Ramon air force base in southern Israel was struck by seven missiles. The IDF has not commented on the strike.(The Hill).

Biden told Netanyahu U.S. won't support an Israeli counterattack on Iran

President Biden told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a call on Saturday that the U.S. won't support any Israeli counterattack against Iran, a senior White House official told Axios.

Iranian drone attack on Israel spurs bipartisan calls in Congress for swift U.S. action

Why it matters: Biden and his senior advisers are highly concerned an Israeli response to Iran's attack on Israel would lead to a regional war with catastrophic consequences, U.S. officials said.

Behind the scenes: Biden told Netanyahu the joint defensive efforts by Israel, the U.S. and other countries in the region led to the failure of the Iranian attack, according to the White House official. (Axios).

• A Biden administration spokesperson said the U.S. "will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran."

• House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said the House's schedule for next week will be changed to include votes on "legislation that supports our ally Israel and holds Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable."

What they're saying: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement that the U.S. "must show our full resolve" and that he will "continue to engage with the White House to insist upon a proper response."

• Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), in a statement, called for the administration to "take concrete steps to support Israel," including "immediate U.S. action to back any Israeli response."

• Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), one of the most staunchly pro-Israel Democrats in Congress, told Axios the U.S. "should assist our ally in intercepting those strikes."

• Some went a step further, with Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) calling for Biden to "launch aggressive retaliatory strikes on Iran."

Zoom in: Some lawmakers called for Congress to pass legislation responding to the attack.

• Lawler and other GOP lawmakers called for the House to try again to pass a stand-alone military aid package for Israel, as well as sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

• Democrats called for the House to pass the Senate's $95 billion Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan aid package. "Our allies cannot afford to wait any longer, and neither should we," said former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

What to watch: Lawmakers are requesting briefings from the Biden administration when Congress returns to session on Monday, according to lawmakers in both parties.

• That includes Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, two members of the panel told Axios.

• Johnson has been briefed and is receiving "regular updates," according to his office.

The bottom line: "The Iranian Regime appears to have made an intractable miscalculation, the gravity of which won't be known for some hours," Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, told Axios.

• Whether that calls for a direct U.S. response, he said, remains to be seen "until we know the gravity and targets of the attack." (Axios)

Repeat - President Biden told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a call on Saturday that the U.S. won't support any Israeli counterattack against Iran, a senior White House official told.

G7 leaders to discuss Iranian attack in Sunday video call.

ROME, April 14 (Reuters) - Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7, has called a video meeting of G7 leaders on Sunday to discuss Iran's attack on Israel late on Saturday.

The Iranian attack in response to a suspected Israeli air strike on Iran's embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 has raised the threat of a wider regional conflict.

"We express our deep concern about a further destablisation of the situation in the region and continue to work to avoid that," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on social media platform X.

The G7 call will be held in the early afternoon European time, an Italian government statement said.

U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged a coordinated G7 diplomatic response to the drone and missile attack, which he condemned, and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he hoped that the Israeli government shows restraint in its response.

"I hope that the Israeli government will adopt a cautious line. I hope that there will be no counterattack to the counterattack," Tajani told radio station RTL 102.5.

The G7 groups the United States, Canada, Italy, Britain, France, Germany and Japan. Its foreign ministers are scheduled to meet over April 17-19 on the Italian island of Capri. (Reuters)

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