Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at what comes next in the Israel-Iran crisis, Singapore announcing a new prime minister, and stabbing attacks in Australia.
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Calls for De-Escalation
Israel’s war cabinet convened for a second day on Monday to discuss how to respond to Iran’s weekend attack on Israel. “We reserve the right to do everything in our power, and we will do everything in our power to defend this country,” Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said. The cabinet’s voting members—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and opposition leader Benny Gantz—also debated diplomatic options to further isolate Iran.
Late Saturday, Tehran launched more than 300 missiles and armed drones at Israel in retaliation for Israeli forces’ strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1 that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members, including a senior commander. Iran’s weekend operation marked the first time that Tehran conducted a direct military assault on Israel. According to Israel’s military, 99 percent of all aerial threats were intercepted.
Foreign leaders quickly condemned Iran’s attack while urging Israel to practice restraint. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Washington spent the past 36 hours “coordinating a diplomatic response to seek to prevent escalation.” His comments add to U.S. President Joe Biden’s statement to Netanyahu on Sunday that the United States would not participate in and does not support an Israeli counterattack on Iran.
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council convened a second day of emergency meetings to address rising tensions in the Middle East, and G-7 and European Union leaders weighed adding new sanctions on Iran. Belgium, France, and Germany summoned their respective Iranian ambassadors to condemn the strikes; U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said now is the time to “step back from the brink”; and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the United Kingdom does not support an Israeli retaliatory strike. U.S. and U.K. air forces helped Israel shoot down aerial threats in the attack.
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday that it does not seek further escalation in the Middle East, with Turkish, Jordanian, and Iraqi officials saying Tehran gave notice of its planned attack days before it occurred—though U.S. officials said Washington received no such warning. Iranian Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami said on Sunday that Tehran would respond to future Israeli offensive measures. “From now on, if the Zionist regime anywhere attacks our interests, assets, figures, and citizens, we will reciprocally attack it from the origin of Iran,” he said on state-run television.
Israeli parliamentarians remain split on how to respond to the crisis. Where more moderate lawmakers, including Gantz, have urged restraint, some far-right leaders have called for a more drastic approach. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has long touted far-right policies, demanded a “crushing” counterattack, urging Israel to “go crazy” and ignore “restraint and proportionality.”
Attacks from Iranian soil add a fifth theater to Israel’s ongoing war. Already, Israel is battling Hamas militants in Gaza, Hezbollah assaults on its northern border, Houthi rebel-led shipping attacks in the Red Sea, and worsening violence in the West Bank. Meanwhile, Hamas rejected Israel’s latest cease-fire proposal on Saturday, instead calling for a permanent truce, the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza, more aid deliveries, the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, and the start of reconstruction efforts. Israel said it won’t stop fighting until all hostages in Gaza are returned and Hamas is completely destroyed.
Today’s Most Read
The World This Week
Tuesday, April 16: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva begins a two-day trip to Colombia.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing.
Wednesday, April 17: Italy hosts a three-day G-7 foreign ministers’ summit.
Croatia holds parliamentary elections.
The Solomon Islands holds a general election.
Friday, April 19: The first phase of voting in India’s general election begins.
Saturday, April 20: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield concludes her multiday trip to South Korea and Japan.
Sunday, April 21: Maldives holds parliamentary elections.
Ecuador holds a referendum on security measures.
Spain’s Basque Country holds regional elections.
Monday, April 22: The Colombian government and National Liberation Army rebels conclude talks in Venezuela.
What We’re Following
New leadership. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced his impending resignation on Monday—ending a nearly 20-year reign. He will step down on May 15, and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is also the country’s finance minister, will take his place. Lee had initially planned to step down in 2022 but stayed in power to shape the country’s COVID-19 response. The ruling People’s Action Party said Wong has its unanimous support; the nation’s next general election must occur no later than November 2025.
Wong is known for helping to navigate Singapore through the pandemic and chairing the nation’s central bank. Politicians hope this expertise will help Singapore rally from massive political and financial scandals as well as guide regional policy as the United States and China vie for influence in the Indo-Pacific. Wong said in a speech last year that Singapore has “to be prepared for unpredictable or even dangerous outcomes emerging” from U.S.-China competition.
Mass stabbings in Australia. Six people were fatally stabbed and 12 others injured at a shopping center in Sydney on Saturday. The perpetrator, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, was killed at the scene. New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said on Monday that the attacker’s motivation was unclear, but police are investigating whether he specifically targeted women. Five of the six victims killed and most of the 12 wounded individuals were women.
And on Monday, at least four people, including a bishop, were stabbed during a livestreamed church sermon in Sydney. Police arrested the 15-year-old suspect at the scene, but hundreds of people gathered outside the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church to demand that the attacker be brought outside, clashing with police. The two stabbing attacks do not appear to be linked.
Chip manufacturing efforts. The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday that it will give up to $6.4 billion in grants to South Korea’s Samsung Electronics to expand its chipmaking facilities in Texas. The agreement is part of a wider investment plan that, with private funding, is expected to exceed $40 billion. This proposal puts Washington “on track to hit our goal of producing 20 percent of the world’s leading-edge chips in the United States by the end of the decade,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
In more U.S. news, former President Donald Trump on Monday became the first former U.S. leader to be tried in a criminal court. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to try to hide efforts that he silenced extramarital affairs allegations, including a $130,000 payment to Stephanie Clifford, the adult-film actress known as “Stormy Daniels.” Jury selection began in New York City on Monday, where Trump was seen dozing off during pretrial motions. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Odds and Ends
Back by non-popular demand, Glasgow’s now-notorious Willy Wonka experience is venturing across the pond. The Los Angeles House of Illuminati announced last week that it will host “Willy’s Chocolate Experience LA” on April 28 despite facing intense online mockery for failing to deliver on its adventure promises in Scotland on Feb. 24. “Yes, this is a real event,” the LA House of Illuminati said. Attendees can pay $44 to see sad Oompa Loompa Kirsty Paterson, eat two complimentary jellybeans, listen to live music, and witness other “enchanting attractions.” Let’s see if the Wonka experience delivers this time.
The post World Leaders Urge Restraint as Israel Mulls Iran Response appeared first on Foreign Policy.
