Iran-Israel tensions live: Iran FM downplays reported Israeli retaliation

Saturday, April 20, 2024

0909 GMT — Iran's foreign minister has dismissed as akin to child's play the reported Israeli retaliation for an unprecedented Iranian strike and said Tehran would not respond unless Iranian "interests" were targeted.

On Friday, Iran's state media reported explosions were heard after, according to an official, small drones were successfully shot down.

"What happened last night was no attack," Foreign Minister Hossein AmirAbdollahian told NBC News in a Friday interview.

"It was the flight of two or three quad-copters, which are at the level of toys that our children use in Iran."

He added, "As long as there is no new adventure on behalf of the Israeli regime against Iran's interests, we will have no response."

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0959 GMT — Egypt calls on Iran and Israel to exercise restraint

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry urged both Iran and Israel to exercise restraint amid high tensions in the Middle East.

Separately, Shoukry said Egypt would host a Turkish delegation to prepare for a visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi to Türkiye in the near future.

0200 GMT — Israel suspected in Iraq military base attack

Israel has come under suspicion for attacking a military base in Iraq hosting a pro-Iran Hashd al Shaabi group after the US denied involvement in the strikes.

"The United States has not conducted air strikes in Iraq today," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X, adding that reports that American forces had carried out a strike were "not true."

Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces [or Hashed al Shaabi or PMF ] later said its command post at Kalso military base about 50 km south of Baghdad was hit by a huge explosion, and two security sources said it resulted from an air strike.

One fighter was killed, and six were wounded, two sources at a hospital in the nearby city of Hilla said.

"The blast has caused material damage and injuries," PMF said in a statement, adding that a team was investigating.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq group said it targeted with drones a vital site in southern Israel's Eilat [Umm al Rashrash in Arabic] area, adding the attack "is a response to the Zionist enemy’s violation of Iraqi sovereignty and its targeting of the Popular Mobilisation Forces [Hashed al-Shaabi] headquarters."

2246 GMT — One killed in 'bombing' at Iraq military base

A "bombing" has killed one person and wounded eight others at a military base in central Iraq, an Interior Ministry source said.

The explosion hit the base at Calso, where former pro-Iranian paramilitary group Hashd al Shaabi — now integrated into the regular army — is stationed, said one military official.

The PMF or Popular Mobilization Forces started out as a grouping of armed factions, many close to Iran, that was later recognised as a formal security force by Iraqi authorities.

2239 GMT — Iran warns Israel against 'another adventurism'

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has warned that Iran will respond at an immediate and "maximum level" if Israel acts against its interests.

"If Israel wants to do another adventurism and acts against the interests of Iran, our next response will be immediate and will be at the maximum level," Amirabdollahian said, speaking through a translator, in an interview with NBC News.

His comments follow reports of an Israeli strike on Iran early on Friday.

For our live updates from Friday, April 19, click here.