We gave warning before attacking Israel – Iran

Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles on Saturday in a retaliatory strike after a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria.

Most of the drones and missiles were downed before reaching Israeli territory, though a young girl was critically injured and there were widespread concerns of further escalation.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said it had spoken to both Washington and Tehran before the attack, adding that it had conveyed messages as an intermediary to be sure reactions were proportionate.

“Iran said the reaction would be a response to Israel’s attack on its embassy in Damascus and that it would not go beyond this.

“We were aware of the possibilities. The developments were not a surprise,” said a Turkish diplomatic source.

“That is absolutely not true,” the official said.

“They did not give a notification, nor did they give any sense of … ‘these will be the targets, so evacuate them.’”

Tehran sent the United States a message only after the strikes began and the intent was to be “highly destructive” said the official, adding that Iran’s claim of a widespread warning may be an attempt to compensate for the lack of any major damage from the attack.

“We received a message from the Iranians as this was ongoing, through the Swiss.

“This was basically suggesting that they were finished after this, but it was still an ongoing attack.

“So that was (their) message to us,” the U.S. official said.

The attack with drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles risked causing major casualties and escalating the conflict.

U.S. officials said on Friday and Saturday they expected an imminent attack and urged Iran against one, with Biden tersely saying his only message to Tehran was: “Don’t.”

Two Iraqi sources, including a government security adviser and a security official, said Iran had used diplomatic channels to inform Baghdad about the attack at least three days before it happened.

The exact timing of the attack was not disclosed at that point, but was passed to Iraqi security and military authorities hours before the strikes, allowing Baghdad to close its airspace and avoid fatal accidents.

“The government clearly understood from the Iranian officials that the U.S. military in Iraq was also aware of the attack in advance,” said the Iraqi security official.

A senior Jordanian official said Iran had summoned Arab envoys in Tehran on Wednesday to inform them of their intention to carry out an attack, though it did not specify the timing.

An Iranian source briefed on the matter said Iran had informed the U.S. through diplomatic channels that included Qatar, Turkey, and Switzerland about the scheduled day of the attack, saying it would be conducted in a manner to avoid provoking a response.

How far escalation can be avoided remains in question.

Biden has told Israel the United States will not join any Israeli retaliation, the U.S. official said.

However, Israel is still weighing its response and will “exact the price from Iran in the fashion and timing that is right for us”, Israeli minister Benny Gantz said on Sunday. (Reuters/NAN),