By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Despite international pressure and calls for restraint amid fears of an escalation of conflict in the Middle East, the Israeli war cabinet and forces have vowed to respond to Iran’s aggression attack in what they tagged a “clear and decisive” manner.

The Israeli cabinet, according to Reuters’s report, said that they awaited word on how Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would respond to Iran’s first-ever direct attack.

A government source reportedly said that Netanyahu on Monday summoned his war cabinet for the second time in less than 24 hours after Iran’s attack, to weigh a response to the massive weekend missile and drone attack.

It was gathered that while the attack caused no deaths and little damage, following the intervention of the air defences and countermeasures of Israel and its allies, the attack has increased concerns that violence rooted in the Gaza war in Palestine is spreading, and there is fear of open war between the two countries that have been long-time enemies.

Reuters reports that Israeli military chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, on Monday said that “This launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles and drones into Israeli territory will be met with a response” but gave no further details.

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

However, the prospect of Israeli retaliation has reportedly alarmed many Iranians already enduring economic pain and tighter social and political controls since protests in 2022-2023.

It was believed that Iran launched the attack on Israel in retaliation for an airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 attributed to Israel, and signalled that it did not seek further escalation.

Meanwhile, the U.S. President, Joe Biden, told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at the weekend that the United States, which helped Israel blunt the Iranian attack, would not participate in an Israeli counter-strike.

Recall that since the war in Gaza began in October, clashes have erupted between Israel and Iran-aligned groups based in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

Israel said that four of its soldiers were wounded hundreds of metres inside Lebanese territory overnight, the first known Israeli ground penetration into Lebanon since the Gaza war erupted, although it has traded fire with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.

The European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, was quoted as telling Spanish radio station Onda Cero that, “We’re on the edge of the cliff and we have to move away from it.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron made similar appeals. Washington and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also have called for restraint.

However, the White House national security spokesman, John Kirby, on Monday refused to say if Biden had urged Netanyahu in talks on Saturday night to exercise restraint in responding to Iran.

Kirby said, “We don’t want to see a war with Iran. We don’t want to see a regional conflict,” adding that it was for Israel to decide “whether and how they’ll respond