Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday called for a decisive strike to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities after the Islamic republic fired a barrage of missiles at Israel.

"We must act now to destroy Iran's nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to fatally cripple this terrorist regime," Bennett wrote on X just hours after the attack on Israel on Tuesday.

"We have the justification. We have the tools. Now that Hezbollah and Hamas are paralysed, Iran stands exposed," wrote Bennett.

In a separate statement, Israel's main opposition leader Yair Lapid said Iran should pay a "significant and heavy price" for the attack.

"Tehran knows that Israel is coming. The response needs to be tough and it should send an unequivocal message to the terror axis in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza and in Iran itself," said Lapid, who also briefly served as premier in 2022.

Iran has been accused of seeking to develop atomic weapons, though the Islamic republic insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but has never admitted so.

Tuesday's attack was Iran's second direct strike on Israel after a missile and drone attack in April in response to a deadly Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

While Iran-backed groups across the region had already been drawn into the Gaza war, sparked by Palestinian group Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, Tehran has largely refrained from direct attacks on its regional arch-enemy.

Bennett was appointed prime minister after elections in 2021 and oversaw a broad political coalition but he only manged to stay in office for a year.

Despite announcing his retirement in June 2022, there have been indications Bennett might be seeking a return to politics.

In July, Gideon Saar — a justice minister under Bennett who this week joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition — said he held discussions with Bennett about his desire to return to politics.

A poll taken by Israeli newspaper Maariv this week showed that if Bennett did decide to return, a party under his leadership would garner almost as many votes as Netanyahu's ruling Likud party.

Biden opposes possible Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites
 Washington DC (UPI) Oct 2, 2024 –

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he would not support a possible Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites and instead is urging Israel to take a more tempered response to this week's missile attack amid concerns of a widening conflict in the Middle East.

"The answer is no," Biden said in response to a reporter's question Wednesday about whether he would support a plan to strike Iran's nuclear facilities.

While the Biden administration has said it stands by Israel's right to strike back, it also wants to avoid ongoing retaliation that could send the entire region into war.

Biden told reporters Wednesday that the United States and leaders of other Group of Seven nations have agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran.

"All seven of us agree that they have a right to respond, but they should respond in proportion," Biden added in reference to his recent conference call with the leaders of Italy, France, Britain, Germany, Canada and Japan, as well as the European Union.

"We will be discussing with the Israelis what they are going to do," Biden said. "We are giving them advice. I will talk to Bibi relatively soon," he added, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu has not issued a response to the United States' message after telling his security cabinet Tuesday that "Iran made a big mistake, and it will pay for it."

The Israeli prime minister held a meeting Wednesday with senior ministers and heads of security to discuss the timing and scope of the country's response to Iran's attack, according to Netanyahu's office.

On Tuesday, Iran launched nearly 200 missiles into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The Israel Defense Forces said it managed to intercept many of the missiles, sparing casualties.

Shortly after the attack, Netanyahu issued a statement saying, "We will stand by the rule we established: Whoever attacks us, we will attack them."

"We know how to locate important targets and hit them in a powerful and precise way," IDF chief of staff Gen. Herzi Halevi reiterated Wednesday. "We can conduct strikes in any place in the Middle East and if one of our enemies has not understood that until now, it will understand it soon."

As the United States works to coordinate with Israel on a response to Iran's attack that will prevent a wider conflict, there is also a stake in protecting U.S. interests abroad.

"The region is really balancing on a knife's edge and real concerns about an even broader escalation … which could imperil not just Israel, but our strategic interests as well," said Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, adding there is a need "to take great care with everything we do regarding Iran."

China urges world powers to prevent Middle East situation 'deteriorating'
Beijing (AFP) Oct 2, 2024 –

China urged world powers on Wednesday to prevent the situation in the Middle East from "further deteriorating" following the latest escalation in the region.

"The Chinese side calls on the international community, especially major influential powers, to truly play a constructive role and prevent the situation from further deteriorating," a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.

"The Chinese side is deeply concerned about the turmoil in the Middle East," the online statement said.

Israel has vowed to make Iran "pay" for firing a barrage of missiles at its territory and warned on Wednesday it would launch an even bigger attack if it is targeted.

Iran launched its second direct attack on Israel in history on Tuesday, firing what it said were 200 missiles, including hypersonic weapons, that sent Israeli civilians into shelters.

Israel, which put the number of missiles at 180, bombarded Lebanese strongholds of Iran ally Hezbollah, with heavy strikes on south Beirut early on Wednesday.

It shifted its focus last month from the war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel, to securing its northern border with Lebanon, where it is fighting Hezbollah.

China said it "opposes any act that violates Lebanon's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and opposes the intensification of conflicts".

Hezbollah began low-intensity strikes on Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged the October 7 attack, which triggered Israel's devastating assault on Gaza.

"The Chinese side believes that the failure to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza is the root cause of the current turmoil in the Middle East," Beijing's statement said on Wednesday.

"All parties should work for a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible."

After Israeli criticism, UN chief 'strongly' condemns Iran strike
United Nations, United States (AFP) Oct 2, 2024 –

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday condemned Iran's missile attack against Israel, following criticism by Israel that he hadn't specifically called out Tehran when he initially condemned the "broadening conflict."

"As should have been obvious yesterday in the context of the condemnation I expressed," Secretary-General Guterres told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, "I again strongly condemn yesterday's massive missile attacks by Iran on Israel."

Iran president vows 'stronger' response if Israel retaliates
Doha (AFP) Oct 2, 2024 –

President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted Wednesday that Iran was "not looking for war" but pledged a stronger response if Israel retaliates for its missile attack.

"If it (Israel) wants to react, we will have a stronger response, this is what the Islamic Republic is committed to," Pezeshkian said in a joint press conference with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in Doha.

"We are not looking for war, it is Israel that forces us to react," he said.

Pezeshkian spoke a day after Iran fired about 200 missiles including hypersonic weapons towards Israel, sending frightened civilians into shelters.

Israel intercepted most of them, while medics reported two people lightly wounded by shrapnel. One of the missiles damaged a school building.

On Wednesday the Israeli military said several Iranian missiles fell inside air force bases without causing any damage.

"The dirty goal of the Zionist regime is to cause insecurity and spread crisis in the region," Pezeshkian said.

"What we want from US and European countries is to tell the entity they have planted in the region (Israel) to stop the bloodshed."

Sheikh Tamim warned that Israel was drawing the region to the "brink of the abyss" with its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The emir also condemned ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, saying Doha would press on with efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 7 attacks triggered the war.