Iran attack shows Israel's superiority in the Middle East, says Gunther Rudzit

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China condemned on Saturday, 14, the attacks by Israel on Iran. In a call with diplomats from both countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that his country “clearly condemns Israel’s violation of Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity” and supports Iran in its defense.

The foreign ministry statement added that “the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has set a dangerous precedent that could have disastrous consequences.”

According to the message released by the ministry, China “clearly opposes Israel’s violation of international law by attacking Iran with force, especially when the international community is still seeking a political solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.”

Wang also said diplomacy on Iran's nuclear program issue has not been exhausted and force cannot bring lasting peace.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a 50-minute phone conversation on Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in Middle East and Ukraine peace talks, the Russian leader's aide Yuri Ushakov said.

“The dangerous escalation of the situation in the Middle East was naturally at the center of the exchange of views,” he told reporters after the leaders’ conversation. The Republican, according to Ushakov, described the regional situation as “very alarming.”

Earlier on Saturday, leaders of Egypt and Turkey said Israel risks pushing the Middle East into “complete chaos.” An Egyptian presidency statement said President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed in a phone call that Israel’s strikes on Iran could lead to “catastrophic repercussions” in the region. They called for an immediate halt to military operations and a return to Omani-brokered nuclear talks between the United States and Iran.

However, Oman's foreign minister said planned talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear program"will not take place now" following Israel's strikes on the Islamic Republic. Badr al-Busaidi made the announcement on social media on Saturday, saying any talks would be"unjustifiable" amid the ongoing attacks.

“The Iran-US talks scheduled to be held in Muscat this Sunday will not take place now,” al-Busaidi wrote. “But diplomacy and dialogue remain the only path to lasting peace.”

New combat focus

In a shift in the conduct of the war, the Israeli military announced on Saturday, 14, that Iran has become its main combat front . Gaza , until then the center of the Israeli offensive, is now a 'secondary position', according to the Israeli military.

Israel's new focus on Iran raises the risk of a major regional conflict, with potential direct involvement of Western powers. Tensions remain high, with offensives and counterattacks being reported on multiple fronts since early Friday.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he concluded a security meeting with military officials by warning that further Iranian strikes could lead to the “total destruction of the Iranian capital.”

The Israeli said the Iranian government was “taking Iran’s citizens hostage and creating a reality in which they will pay a heavy price.” “If (Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at Israel’s rear, Tehran will burn,” he said.

Under the justification that Iran was approaching a “point of no return” towards the atomic bomb, in the last 24 hours the Israeli Armed Forces launched an unprecedented attack on Iranian soil , hitting more than 200 nuclear and military facilities and killing the country's military leadership, as well as nine scientists involved in the Iranian nuclear program.

Also on Saturday, Israel bombed Iranian air defenses and missile launchers, stepping up its operations against the country. Iran's state media said 78 people were killed, including 20 children.

Also on Saturday, Iran fired at least 200 missiles and left three people dead and 82 injured in Israeli territory since Friday, the 13th.

It was the first time Israeli forces have admitted targeting the Fordow nuclear facility, a key hub of Iran's nuclear program that is located on a base of Iran's Revolutionary Guards buried nearly half a kilometer beneath a mountain, although the structure was not seriously damaged.

Iranian authorities, meanwhile, said they had removed equipment from Fordow before the strikes on the heavily fortified nuclear facility. Behrus Kamalvandi, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted by the state-run IRNA news agency as saying the damage around the facility was “manageable.”

Israel is not conducting a military operation, but a decapitation of Iran, says StandWithUs president.

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The site — built deep underground and protected by anti-aircraft batteries — houses centrifuges used in uranium enrichment, essential for the development of nuclear weapons.

The Israeli military also released images of the bombings. The offensive, according to Israeli authorities, will continue to focus on nuclear facilities , military bases, ballistic missile launchers and human targets considered strategic, such as nuclear scientists and high-ranking officials. On Saturday, Tel Aviv announced that it had killed nine Iranian nuclear experts in attacks carried out since Friday (Thursday night in Brasília).

. The Israeli government, for its part, says that the conflict will continue for as long as necessary.

Despite international calls for a de-escalation, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned that “more attacks will come.”

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Israel's strikes were a "declaration of war."

In the face of the Israeli offensive, the Iranian government issued a direct warning to the United States, the United Kingdom and France, stating that if there is any interference to prevent Tehran's attacks on Israel, Western military bases and ships in the region could be targeted for retaliation.

US President Donald Trump said the US will help defend Israel and that Iran has "a second chance" to return to the negotiating table to address the country's nuclear program.

American officials have been quoted in news reports as saying that U.S. forces have already helped shoot down Iranian drones and missiles as they approached Israel. French President Emmanuel Macron also said on Friday that his country would help defend Israel against Iranian retaliation.

Why is Iran at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East?

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In recent years, the world has seen an escalation of conflicts in the Middle East, and Iran has been involved in all the hotbeds of tension in the region.

The UK government said its forces had not provided any military assistance to Israel, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed the need for tensions to be de-escalated.

He said Britain was sending Royal Air Force jets and other military reinforcements to the Middle East as the conflict between Iran and Israel threatened to escalate. “We are moving resources to the region, including jets, for contingency support,” he told reporters on a flight to Canada for the G7 summit.

Tehran is seeking to deter Western support for Israel's defense at a time when most of the missiles and drones it launches against the country are being intercepted before they reach their targets.

However, following through with the threat, issued on Saturday through state media, would be a huge risk for Iran, drawing Western forces into the conflict when it is already reeling from the brunt of Israeli bombardment.

Speaking at a UN Security Council session on Friday, US diplomat McCoy Pitt warned: “No allied country or independent militia should target American citizens, American bases or other American infrastructure in the region. The consequences for Iran would be dire.” / AP, NYT and AFP