World leaders, who had urged Israel and Iran to ease tensions, once again implored both countries to avoid any further action that could spark a wider war in the Middle East as Israel battles Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. , both allies of Iran.
“A significant escalation is in no one's interests,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose military took part in defending Israel from Iran's missile and drone attack last weekend, told reporters on Friday. “What we want to see is for calm to prevail throughout the region.”
Last Saturday, there was an airstrike on a base used by an Iranian-backed armed group, Harakat al Nujaba, in Iraq's Babylon province, according to an arm of Iraq's security forces, the Popular Mobilization Forces. A hospital said at least three people were injured in the explosion there.
No responsibility was claimed for Saturday's attack on the base used by Harakat al Nujaba, which is part of the Iraqi security apparatus. The US military, which has carried out attacks against Iranian-backed armed groups in Iraq in the past, said in a statement who had not participated in any attack in Iraq.
Some analysts said the small scale of Friday's Israeli strike in Iran could give both countries a reason to refrain from further military strikes.
“It appears we are out of the danger zone, and because Israel's attack has been limited, it has allowed both countries to back off for now,” said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, a British research centre. institution.
The area around Isfahan has several Iranian military sites, including nuclear facilities that Israel has targeted in the past. But Iranian news agencies reported that none of the nuclear facilities had been hit and appeared eager to demonstrate that life had “returned to normal” in the city known for its turquoise and purple-tiled mosques, picturesque arched bridges and Grand Bazaar. Iran's official news agency, IRNA, published a gallery of photos of people around Isfahan, including women walking with shopping bags and a child kicking a soccer ball.