April 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Kingdom has denied that Iran informed it 72 hours in advance about the missile and drone attack launched on the night of Saturday to Sunday against Israel in retaliation for the previous bombing of its Consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
A government spokesperson rejected these claims by Iran on Monday. “More generally, we condemn in the strongest possible terms their direct attack on Israel,” he added, according to The Guardian newspaper.
This comes after the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hosein Amirabdolahian, assured the day before that “about 72 hours before” the attack they informed “friends and neighbors in the region”, as well as the United States.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday that it acted as an intermediary for messages between the United States and Iran. “Before the incident we met with Iranian and US authorities and asked for restraint,” he said in a statement.
The Israeli Army reported that Iran's direct attack – announced by Tehran as Operation 'True Promise' – included Tehran launching more than 300 projectiles, including drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.
For its part, Iran defended that these attacks are part of a legitimate response and its right to “self-defense” after the bombing of its Consulate in Damascus, blamed on Israel and which resulted in the death of two civilians and several members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
