Measured comments from Israel and Iran on new round of strikes
Iran’s leaders emphasized Sunday that they had a right to respond to Israel’s airstrikes a day earlier but appeared to take a measured tone, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the assault had achieved its objectives.
Their comments came as Israeli and U.S. negotiators headed to Qatar in an effort to revive long-stalled talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Earlier, Israel carried out more deadly attacks in northern Gaza and in southern Lebanon.
In his first public comments since Israeli warplanes struck Iran on Saturday, Netanyahu said the strikes — carried out in retaliation for a missile barrage Iran fired at Israel on Oct. 1 — had severely damaged Iran’s defensive capabilities and its ability to produce missiles.
Iranian and Israeli officials told The New York Times that the strikes had destroyed air-defense systems that protect important energy sites but did not hit the facilities themselves.
Iran must now decide whether to respond.
On Sunday, in his first public comments about the strikes, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the strikes “should neither be magnified nor downplayed,” the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.
He did not appear to be explicitly calling for retaliation.
On Sunday, the head of Israel’s foreign intelligence service, David Barnea, was scheduled to take part in cease-fire talks in Qatar. CIA Director William Burns, along with Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, were also expected to participate.
The planned talks were the first since Israeli soldiers killed Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, almost two weeks ago. U.S. officials had accused him of being the main obstacle to a truce.
Netanyahu’s office has said the talks would focus on several initiatives, including one proposed by Egypt, which, along with Qatar, has acted as a mediator between Israel and Hamas.
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