Poland wants to join European air-defense shield project

The proposed system is intended to protect member countries from drone and missile attacks

Poland plans to take part in the development of a European air-defense system that would protect states against potential drone and missile attacks, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced.

The so-called European Sky Shield Initiative was first announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a speech in Prague in August 2022. Since then, 21 countries have joined the project.

According to Tusk, Iran’s recent attack on Israel shows how important it is to have an air defense system similar to Israel’s Iron Dome.

“There is no reason for Europe not to develop its own shield against rockets and drones,” the Polish prime minister stated. “It doesn’t take much imagination to understand that we may be in the danger zone as well.”

Tusk has urged member countries to boost air-defense investments, given the active use of missiles and drones in the Ukraine conflict. He also pointed to the use of Iranian Shahed drones by Russia to strike Ukrainian targets.

“Iran and Russia act as allies,” Tusk told reporters. “The same Iranian drones that attack Ukrainian suburbs have been used to attack Israel.”

Erdogan blames Israel for Iranian attack

Western hypocrisy helped bring about an escalation, the Turkish leader has said

Iran’s first direct attack on Israel is the fault of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first and foremost, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

In a televised address after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdogan said it was unfair to look at last Saturday’s events in a vacuum. 

“The one chiefly responsible for the tension that gripped our hearts on the evening of April 13 is Netanyahu and his bloody administration,” he said.

“Since October 7, the Israeli government has opted for provocative moves in order to spread the fire to the entire region. The Israeli government targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus, violating international law and the Vienna Convention, and that was the last straw,” added Erdogan.

Tehran’s diplomatic mission was struck on April 1, killing seven high-ranking officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, including two generals. Israel never officially claimed responsibility for the strike, but has repeatedly bombed Syria, claiming preemptive self-defense from the Iranian presence there.

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“We have seen the double-standard approach of Western countries,” Erdogan said, pointing out that only a handful of countries condemned Israel’s move, but rushed to denounce Iran’s response.

Tehran eventually launched scores of drones and missiles against targets inside Israel. The US, UK, France and Jordan helped the Israelis with air defense but some of the projectiles got through, causing unspecified damage.

Erdogan also blamed Israel for the current conflict in general, saying its forces have “indiscriminately” killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, including people standing in line for humanitarian aid. 

“For more than 132 days, Israel has been implementing genocidal policies,” the Turkish leader claimed.

Netanyahu declared war on Gaza-based Hamas after the Palestinian militant group raided nearby Israeli villages and military bases last October. Much of Gaza has since been reduced to rubble and its civilian population pushed to the edge of starvation. A recent report by UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has accused Israel of intending to commit genocide in the enclave.

Israel urges more sanctions on Iran

West Jerusalem has announced a ‘diplomatic offensive’ against the Islamic Republic

Israel’s foreign ministry has called for international sanctions on Iran to be tightened, following the Islamic Republic’s attack on the country over the weekend.

Tehran carried out a massive airstrike on Israeli territory on Saturday in response to the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria earlier this month. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its role in the bombing, but its responsibility was later implied by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday he has contacted 32 countries and spoke with numerous counterparts, calling on each to “place sanctions on Iran’s missile project and declare the Revolutionary Guard a terror organization, as a way to stop and weaken Iran.”

“We must stop Iran now, before it will be too late,” the FM said in a social media post.

Katz added that alongside the military response to the firing by Tehran of missiles and drones, he is “leading a diplomatic offensive against Iran.” 

The foreign minister’s statement comes as Israel’s war cabinet is holding its fifth meeting on Tuesday to discuss a potential response to Iran. Shortly after the attack, the war cabinet decided it will take “clear and decisive” action. The US reportedly said it would not participate in an Israeli counteroffensive and expects the response to be limited in scope.

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Israel promises ‘response’ to Iranian attack

A potential full-scale war with Iran would be costly for the Israeli economy, according to experts. Countering Saturday’s Iranian strike, which West Jerusalem claims involved more than 300 drones and missiles, reportedly cost Israel more than $1 billion.

Meanwhile, the Group of Seven countries (G7) were already working on a package of coordinated measures against Iran, according to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Iran has been the subject of numerous international sanctions for decades over its nuclear development program. Sanctions were eased somewhat in 2015 when Tehran agreed to some restrictions to the program under the Iran Nuclear Deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between Iran, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the EU.

However, the deal was scrapped in 2018 after then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the agreement and reimposed discontinued sanctions on Tehran. Several attempts in recent years to revive the Iran Nuclear Deal have failed.