Sanctions on tap for Iran as diplomats try to calm tensions, appease Israel: Live updates

Israel’s foreign minister on Tuesday said he’s leading a “diplomatic offensive” against Iran following Saturday’s unprecedented attack on Israel and amid global efforts to calm tensions between the two countries to prevent a wider war in the Middle East.

Israel Katz said in a social media post that he’s calling for sanctions to be imposed on the Iranian missile project and that “the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be declared a terrorist organization … to curb and weaken Iran.” Katz’s efforts included sending letters to 32 countries and conversations with dozens of foreign ministers.

“Iran must be stopped now − before it is too late,” he said.

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Other diplomatic efforts were also underway to bring down the temperature. The U.S. plans to levy new sanctions on Iran “in the coming days,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday. The European Union intends to do the same, according to top EU diplomat Josep Borrell, who said the bloc is “asking all actors in the region to move away from the abyss, in order not to fall into it.”

An Israeli soldier checks a mobile atop a tank in an army camp near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip on April 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she would travel to Israel on Tuesday. “It is incredibly important for us as the German federal government in these fragile times that we all work together to contribute to de-escalation for the entire region,” Baerbock said at a news conference with her Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi.

Developments:

◾ The Israel Defense Forces said on Telegram that two armed drones crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory on Tuesday and exploded in the area of Beit Hillel, a town in northern Israel. “The incident is under review,” the IDF said in a statement. Throughout the day, the Israeli military reported active sirens in northern Israel and “a community near the Gaza Strip.”

◾ Nearly three-quarters of Israelis oppose a response to Iran’s weekend attack that would harm Israel’s relationship with its allies, a Hebrew University poll revealed, according to the Israel Times.

◾ The Israeli military, using tanks, killed “a number” of Hamas militants in central Gaza along with military compounds, tunnels and a missile launcher, the IDF said on Telegram.

◾ More than 33,800 Palestinians have been killed since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. Over 76,000 people have been injured, and thousands more are feared buried beneath the rubble, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The health ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths, though it says most of the dead are women and children.

◾ Ruth Patir, the artist representing Israel at the Venice Biennale art fair, said she was refusing to open the national pavilion until a cease-fire and hostage deal was reached. “I feel that the time for art is lost,” Patir wrote in a statement on Instagram. “And so if I am given such a remarkable stage, I want to make it count.”

Hamas drops number of hostages it would free in latest truce plan

Hamas has reduced the number of hostages it says it will release during the initial phase of a temporary cease-fire from 40 to 20, CNN reported, citing an Israeli source and a senior Biden administration official.

The significant development in peace talks comes after Hamas told negotiators last week that it could not locate many of the 40 captives – female, elderly and sick hostages – that Israel sought to have freed in an initial phase of a deal. Hamas offered fewer than 20 hostages in the latest counterproposal for a truce, CNN reported.

Israel had asked for the release of the 40 captives in exchange for Israel allowing 150,000 displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza without security checks – a proposal made by the U.S.

Putin preaches restraint to his Iranian pals

Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago set off global impacts that reverberate to this day, is encouraging moderation when it comes to the Middle East crisis.

Putin spoke Tuesday with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi about the current Iran-Israel face-off and, according to the Kremlin, “expressed hope that all sides would show reasonable restraint and prevent a new round of confrontation fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region.”

Since invading its neighbor in February 2022, Russia has considerably strengthened its ties to Iran, which supplies it with attack drones used in Ukraine. In a readout of the leaders’ conversation, the Kremlin said Raisi pointed out Iran’s response to the April 1 attack on its embassy in Damascus was limited in scope, and “he stressed Tehran’s disinterest in further escalation of tensions.”

The Iranian version of the call was different, Reuters reported, based on accounts from state media saying Raisi warned of a severe and extensive response to any actions against Iran.

Over 10,000 Palestinian women killed in Gaza war, U.N. says

A new U.N. report estimates over 10,000 Palestinian women – including more than 6,000 mothers – have been killed since the start of the war in Gaza.

The report released Tuesday said more than 19,000 children have been orphaned and that over 1 million women and girls still in Gaza are facing a barrage of threats amid a worsening humanitarian disaster.

“Women who have survived have been displaced, widowed and facing starvation,” the U.S. report says. “More than one million women and girls in Gaza have almost no food, no access to safe water, latrines, washrooms, or sanitary pads, with disease growing amidst inhumane living conditions.”

After scrutiny from the U.S. and global outrage over the mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israel said last week it had opened a northern crossing and would open a port in southern Israel to receive and deliver aid shipments.

The U.N. on Tuesday said “Israel continues to impose unlawful restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance” and that distribution of the aid remains a large barrier to getting desperately needed aid and supplies into the hands of Palestinian civilians.

“The High Commissioner repeats that there must be an immediate cease-fire, the hostages must be released, and full, unfettered humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow immediately,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office, said at a briefing in Geneva.

Israeli War Cabinet postpones meeting on response to attack

Israel’s War Cabinet postponed its scheduled third meeting in three days from Tuesday to Wednesday as it weighs a response to Iran’s missile and drone blitz amid intense diplomatic efforts to prevent the countries’ current confrontation from turning into a full-fledged conflict.

Iran’s retaliation Saturday for a suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria on April 1 − an assault that killed seven Iranian military officers − has intensified their hostilities and created the current crisis.

Military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has said the Iranian attack “will be met with a response.” No decision has been announced.

President Joe Biden said that the U.S. – which along with its allies helped Israel intercept most of the hundreds of missiles and drones launched from Iran – will continue to defend its ally but will not be part of any retaliatory measure against Iran for Saturday’s attack.

Iran says it will respond to any action ‘against its interests’

Raisi said Tuesday that Iran will respond to any action against its interests, Reuters reported, citing the Iranian Student News Agency.

“We categorically declare that the smallest action against Iranian interests will certainly be met with a severe, widespread and painful response against any perpetrator,” Raisi told the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

On Monday night, Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s deputy Foreign Minister, told state TV that Tehran’s response to any Israeli retaliation would happen in “a matter of seconds as Iran will not wait for another 12 days to respond.”

Why did Iran strike Israel?

Iran’s missile and drone barrage was retaliation for Israel’s suspected strike on Iran’s embassy in Damascus on April 1, which killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers, including two top commanders.

The strike followed months of clashes between Israel and Iran’s regional allies and was triggered by the war in Gaza, which has spread to fronts with Iran-aligned groups in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

The Israel-Hamas war began Oct. 7 when Hamas militants attacked Israeli border communities, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel responded with a bombardment of Gaza that has gutted the enclave, fueled a humanitarian crisis and left more than 33,000 dead.

Contributing: Susan Miller, Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sanctions on tap for Iran as diplomats try to calm tensions, appease Israel: Live updates