Israel launched a revenge attack against Iran last night after the Iranian attack on Israel on 1 October. Heavy explosions were reported in and around Tehran. – Then I will say something I rarely say about the war in the Middle East: It could have been worse, says Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide to news. He says that it was in the cards that Israel would strike back after Iran’s attack on Israel. – We have been waiting for this. Then the US and a number of other countries have tried to convince Israel that there should be a limited response, says the foreign minister. news has verified this image from the south of Tehran. The image is taken from Telegram. Photo: TELEGRAM Not waiting for a response from Iran Iran says it will respond to the attack, but Eide is not convinced that it will happen. – Based on what we know now, this appears to be an attack against military targets, not against nuclear facilities or oil facilities, but against rocket batteries and rocket production facilities. Then it is conceivable that Iran will refrain from further response, he says. The limited attack makes the foreign minister believe that this could be the end of this particular spiral of violence. – We would like to have avoided this whole spiral of retaliation. It is almost impossible to say who started, says Eide. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide believes that the Israeli attack on Iran last night could have been worse. Palestine and Gaza The Minister for Foreign Affairs points out that there have been attacks back and forth in various forms, both indirectly with proxies, but also direct exchange of, among other things, rockets between the two countries. – So I would say that this will be a very good opportunity for Iran to say that we are now stopping exactly that, says the foreign minister. At the same time, the war in Palestine and Gaza continues with full force. – Right now there is a terribly dramatic situation, for example in northern Gaza, where there are extensive military attacks and almost no emergency aid is coming in. So we should not forget that it is where it is most dramatic now, says Eide. He points out that in the Middle East everything is connected to everything, and not least to “the main unresolved issue”: That there never was a Palestinian state. – They have never found a key to some kind of final peace agreement between Israel and several of the surrounding countries. That is why it is so important that we now get out of this hell of violence that we have seen for so long, and into a political process. – This is where Norway wants to contribute going forward, says Eide. – Breathing a sigh of relief Eide thinks the Americans are happy that the Israeli attack did not get worse than it did. – One should not overestimate how much international issues can change the outcome of an election that is now less than two weeks away, but I am quite sure that both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are breathing a sigh of relief. That it didn’t become even more dramatic, says the foreign minister. IDF spokesperson Daniel Habari on Israel’s attack on Iran. He elaborates that the Israel-Palestine conflict is deeply divisive in the United States, especially for the Democratic Party. – They have strong pro-Israeli, but also increasingly strong pro-Palestinian circles in their own organisation. This has been a difficult balancing act for them, says Eide. The British Prime Minister has also reacted to the Israeli attack on Iran. – I am aware that Israel has rights to defend itself against Iranian aggression. We must prevent it from escalating regionally and I encourage all sides to show strength. Iran should not respond, says Keir Starmer He adds that the British government will continue to work with allies to de-escalate the situation in the region. . British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the British government will continue to work with allies to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East. Photo: Stefan Rousseau / Reuters Interested in abroad? Listen to the foreign affairs editor’s podcast: Published 26.10.2024, at 08.54 Updated 26.10.2024, at 3 p.m
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