Johannesburg, June 23 (IANS) South Africa has expressed concern over attacks by the United States on Iranian targets, calling for dialogue to end the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa and the South African government have noted with a great deal of anxiety the entry by the United States of America into the Israel-Iran war,” said a statement issued by the Presidency.
This came after US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Saturday that American forces had completed strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, namely Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
The US strikes followed Israeli attacks launched since June 13 on various targets in Iran, including nuclear and military sites, killing senior commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel.
As of Saturday, more than 400 people have been killed and over 3,500 wounded in Iran, according to the Iranian Health Ministry. In Israel, authorities reported 24 fatalities.
In the statement, South Africa expressed its sincere hope that all the parties would pursue a dialogue path in resolving their issues of dispute, Xinhua news agency reported.
“South Africa calls on the United States, Israel, and Iran to give the United Nations the opportunity and space to lead on the peaceful resolution of the matters of dispute, including the inspection and verification of Iran’s status of uranium enrichment, as well as its broader nuclear capacity,” the statement said.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) announced that its Air Force fighter jets, guided by precise intelligence from the IDF Intelligence Directorate, struck key command centres and assets belonging to Iran’s internal security forces and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Tehran.
“More than 50 fighter jets attacked military targets in Tehran in the latest wave of attacks, and as part of the IDF’s extensive operations to damage the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, Air Force fighter jets, under the direction of the Intelligence Directorate, attacked Iranian regime military headquarters, missile and radar production sites, and missile storage infrastructure in the Tehran area of Iran,” the IDF stated.
The IDF said that it has attacked a number of military headquarters of the Iranian regime, including the “Tharallah” headquarters, the general headquarters under the Revolutionary Guards, which is designed to protect Tehran from security threats, including internal threats. In addition, the “Sayed Al-Shahada” Brigade, which is also subordinate to the Revolutionary Guards, and is responsible for defending the homeland, was also attacked.
–IANS
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