Israel-Iran crisis: Iranian cleric warns Israel against 'doing anything foolish' as France calls US sanctions 'unacceptable'

Military confrontation comes as Hamas' leader warns of mass breach of Israeli border fence

Syrian military video shows air defences trying to intercept Israeli missiles

The chief of the UN has called for an immediate halt to “all hostile acts” in the Middle East, a day after Israeli forces bombed Iranian military targets inside Syria.

Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, asked for the halt to avoid “a new conflagration” in the region following the most extensive military exchange between Israel and Iran.

Iranian senior cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said during Friday prayers that Western pressure will backfire, threatening that Israel will pay the price.

"The holy system of Islamic Republic will step up its missile capabilities day by day so that Israel, this occupying regime, will become sleepless and the nightmare will constantly haunt it that if it does anything foolish, we will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground," the hardline cleric said. The worshippers chanted: "Death to America," and "Death to Israel".

Israel said the strikes were retaliation for an Iranian rocket barrage on its positions in the occupied Golan Heights. It was the most serious military confrontation between the two bitter rivals to date and risks direct clashes which could swiftly escalate.

It comes as Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip hinted at the possibility thousands of Palestinians could breach the border fence with Israel during mass protests this week.

Britain supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Iranian aggression, Theresa May, the prime minister, told her Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel said it had attacked nearly all of Iran’s military infrastructure in Syria on Thursday after Iranian forces fired rockets at Israeli-held territory for the first time.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which closely monitors the civil war through sources inside Syria, said 23 fighters, including five Syrian soldiers, were killed. It was not immediately clear if any Iranians were among the dead.

The confrontation came two days after Donald Trump announced the United States would withdraw, with Israel’s encouragement, from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

The British statement said Ms May and Mr Netanyahu “agreed it was vital for the international community to continue working together to counter Iran’s destabilising regional activity, and for Russia to use its influence in Syria to prevent further Iranian attacks”.

The statement added that Ms May had “reiterated our position on the Iran nuclear deal, noting that we and our European partners remain firmly committed to ensuring the deal is upheld, as the best way of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon”.

The White House swiftly condemned Iran's "provocative rocket attacks from Syria against Israeli citizens" and expressed strong support for "Israel's right to act in self-defence," while Russia said the Israeli strikes marked a dangerous escalation and urged both Israel and Iran to avoid provoking each other.

In a statement, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said "the Iranian regime's deployment into Syria of offensive rocket and missile systems aimed at Israel is an unacceptable and highly dangerous development for the entire Middle East."

Additional reporting by agencies

[11 May 2018 15:39 · Steve Anderson]

A senior Lebanese politician and close ally of Syria and Iran has said this the response to what he called repeated Israeli airstrikes in Syria was a "very strong warning" to Israel. 

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri says this time the Syrian retaliation was in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but next time it will be in Israel proper. 

Speaking to the Associated Press, he said Israel and the U.S. cannot bear the consequences of a wide-scale regional war. 

"There are American interests in Syria and if there is a larger war, I don't think even the American president can bear the consequences," he said. 

[11 May 2018 16:12 · Steve Anderson]

The world's top two container shipping groups, Maersk Line and MSC, are reviewing their Iran operations after President Trump announced the US was pulling out of the international nuclear agreement with Tehran.

Mr Trump has also instructed his administration to re-impose US sanctions after a winding down period.

“MSC is reviewing its services, operations and business relationships to understand if any are impacted and will comply with the timetable set out by the US government,” the private Swiss-headquartered group said.

[11 May 2018 16:51 · Steve Anderson]

The Kremlin says that Russia and its ex-Soviet allies will sign a free trade pact with Iran. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the deal between Iran, Russia and other members of the Moscow-dominated Eurasian Economic Union is set to be signed next week. The grouping includes Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. 

While Mr Ushakov noted that the pact's signing had been planned for long time, the move coincides with the US exit from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

Mr Ushakov said Mr Putin will discuss the US withdrawal from the Iranian deal with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who are set to visit Russia later this month. 

[11 May 2018 17:36 · Steve Anderson]

Here is our latest report on the protests in Tehran:

[11 May 2018 19:53 · Steve Anderson]

Israel's tough stance on Iran has boosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's popularity at home, and he can expect more good press in the coming days when the United States opens its embassy in Jerusalem.

A poll on Channel 2 television the day after Trump scrapped the Iran deal showed Mr Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party would gain five seats if elections were held now, winning 35 in the 120-seat parliament and strengthening its position in a ruling coalition. A poll in April had Likud on 28 seats.

[11 May 2018 20:02 · Steve Anderson]

The White House has released a statement, again admonishing recent actions by Iran against Israel and Saudi Arabia - two nations Mr Trump has sought to strengthen the US relationship with. The release is headed:

'Statement from the Press Secretary on Iranian Aggression Against Saudi Arabia and Israel'

"Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) pours resources into exporting destabilizing influence throughout the Middle East, even as the Iranian people are victims of a struggling economy. Already this week, the IRGC has fired rockets at Israeli citizens, and Iran’s proxies in Yemen have launched a ballistic missile at Riyadh.  These actions are further proof that the Iranian regime’s reckless actions pose a severe threat to regional peace and security. It is time for responsible nations to bring pressure on Iran to change this dangerous behavior."

[11 May 2018 22:46 · Steve Anderson]

We are now ending our coverage for today. Thanks for reading