VOA News | Friday, April 19, 2024 
Israel conducts airstrike in Iran, US media say, citing Israeli, US officials

Israel carried out a predawn aerial strike inside Iran on Friday. The New York Times and The Washington Post cited Israeli officials as saying Israel had carried out an airstrike in Iran. U.S. officials were cited by multiple news outlets as calling it a missile strike. The location or target of the apparent Israeli strike was not immediately identified. About an hour after the reports emerged, an Israeli military spokesperson contacted by VOA said he had no comment “at the moment.” Italian Foreign Minister Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the host of the Group of 7 ministerial meeting in Capri, Italy, said Friday Israel had informed the U.S. “at the last minute,” of the attack. Speaking to reporters at a briefing Friday following G7 meetings in Capri, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked repeatedly to comment about the reports, but he refused to do so. “The United States has not been involved in any offensive operations,” Blinken said in response. “What we’re focused on, what the G7 is focused on, and again it’s reflected in our statement and in our conversation, is our work to de-escalate.” U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said the U.N chief “reiterates it’s high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East.” – Read more