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 11:31 · Samuel Osborne]

Israel's defense minister is urging Bashar al-Assad to rid Syria of Iranian forces, warning their presence endangers his country. 

Avigdor Lieberman said: "Assad, get rid of the Iranians ... they are not helping you ... their presence will only cause problems and damages." 

Speaking while touring the Israeli held side of the Golan Heights, Mr Lieberman said Israel does not "look for friction ... we did not come to the Iranian border, they came here."

[11 May 2018 11:56 · Samuel Osborne]

Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in cities across the country to protest Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the nuclear deal with world powers. 

The protests resembled other aggressive but orderly gatherings typical under Hassan Rouhani, who has tried for a rapprochement with the West. 

But while slogans of "Death to America" were few, many Iranians are sincerely angry over Mr Trump's decision and are siding with hard-liners who long have warned to be suspicious of the West. 

Iran said it may resume uranium enrichment in a higher rate in weeks if it finds the nuclear deal will not work anymore after the US pulls out.

[11 May 2018 12:27 · Adam Withnall]

In an apparent U-turn, it seems Russia is no longer in talks with the Syrian government over the sale of advanced S-300 ground-to-air missiles. 

Russian daily Izvestia cited a top Kremlin aide as saying Moscow does not believe they are needed by Mr Assad.

The news comes after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week. 

Mr Netanyahu’s office said after the meeting Russia is “unlikely” to limit Israel’s armed actions in Syria.

[11 May 2018 13:03 · Adam Withnall]

Boris has backed the wrong horse, reader Sasha Simic writes in today's letters to The Independent'seditors.

On Monday Boris Johnson was calling for president Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On Tuesday Trump terminated his country’s nuclear deal with Iran. Trump also imposed new sanctions against Iran on the advice, no doubt of his national security advisor, John Bolton. Bolton is a hard right hawk who has long argued that the US must force regime change on Iran.   

Trump’s aggressive stance towards Iran has encouraged Israel to take military action against Iran. On Thursday Israel attacked Iran’s military infrastructure inside Syria. It is highly likely that Israel will attack Lebanon following Hezbollah’s recent electoral success there. Trump’s action have opened the door to yet more Western-directed bloodshed and misery in the region. Yet the UK’s foreign secretary wants the Nobel Peace Prize to go to Trump. 

All that expensive public school education was completely wasted on Boris Johnson – wasn’t it?

[11 May 2018 13:12 · Adam Withnall]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin have spoken on the phone about efforts to save the Iran nuclear deal and dissolve current tensions in the Middle East, Ms Merkel's office has said.  

The German leader is due to travel for talks with her Russian counterpart in the Russian seaside city of Sochi next week. 

[11 May 2018 13:53 · Adam Withnall]

Reuters

Friday prayers are over and in Gaza, thousands of protesters are gathering at the border fence with Israel.

Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, has hinted he wants Palestinians to breach the border fence during mass protests in the lead up to the US embassy move in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

[11 May 2018 14:29 · Adam Withnall]

Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif is going to embark on a diplomatic tour on Saturday to try and save the nuclear deal, a spokesperson has said.

Stops in Beijing, Moscow and Brussels will involve meetings with the remaining five world powers still in the 2015 agreement.

 Mr Zarif is also thought to be determined to assuage global fears over an escalation with Israel in Syria.

[11 May 2018 15:06 · Steve Anderson]

More from Iranian senior cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami's address earlier, where he said 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 during Friday sermons. The worshippers chanted: "Death to America," and "Death to Israel". 

[11 May 2018 15:13 · Steve Anderson]

In an interview with Le Parisien, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has called the US decision to re-impose sanctions on Iran as “unacceptable” saying European countries should not have to pay for that decision. 

“We feel that the extraterritoriality of their sanction measures are unacceptable. The Europeans should not have to pay for the withdrawal from an agreement by the United States, to which they had themselves contributed.”

[11 May 2018 15:18 · Steve Anderson]

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says the EU is determined to make sure the Iran nuclear agreement is respected despite President Donald Trump's decision to pull out. 

Ms Mogherini said that "our determination is to keep this agreement in place. Obviously we need the only country that can unilaterally destroy this agreement to stay committed, which is Iran." 

Ms Mogherini said she has been reassured about Iran's intentions by the declarations of President Hassan Rouhani. 

She added that the US cannot undo the agreement by pulling out, saying: "this deal is not a bilateral treaty. It's a UN Security Council Resolution and it belongs to the entire world." 

Ms Mogherini will chair talks between the British, French, German and Iranian foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday.