CYCLE OF REPRISALS
The front pages of some of Israel’s leading newspapers on Thursday cited “assessments” that Iran may be rethinking its course of action, reportedly in part due to US pressure.
Officials and leaders in the Middle East and beyond have called for calm, with Britain’s minister for international development, Anneliese Dodds, telling AFP on a visit to Jordan: “We must see a de-escalation.”
The United States, which has sent extra warships and jets to the region, has urged both Iran and Israel to avoid an escalation.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron spoke Wednesday with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian and later with Israel’s Netanyahu, telling both to “avoid a cycle of reprisals”, according to the French presidency.
Israel’s military chief Herzi Halevi told troops “we are not stopping” targeting the leaders of “our most dangerous enemies”, vowing to “find” and “attack” Hamas’s newly-appointed chief Yahya Sinwar too, according to an army statement.
Source: CNA
