Israeli Prime Minister convenes security chiefs meeting after Iran attack

The meeting took place at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, with the participation of Shin Bet Internal Security Director Ronen Bar; Mossad Intelligence Director David Barnea; IDF Commander-in-Chief Herzi Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The Israeli military said in a statement that several missiles fired by Iran hit Israeli air bases on October 1 but did not cause any casualties or damage. The statement did not specify which bases.

On the same day, October 2, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami affirmed that the country's armed forces have established the necessary deterrence capabilities against the possibility of Israel attacking the country's nuclear facilities.

The statement was made on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting in Tehran after reports that Israeli officials had not ruled out carrying out attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities if Tehran retaliated against Israel's response to the October 1 missile attack.

In a post on the social media platform X on October 2, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wrote, “Israel now has the greatest opportunity in 50 years to change the face of the Middle East. We must act now to destroy Iran’s nuclear program and its central energy facilities.”

Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran and Hezbollah and Hamas forces, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to the dangerous spiral of escalation in the Middle East.

Speaking at an emergency meeting of the Security Council (UNSC), the UN chief stressed that it was time to end the terrifying spiral of escalation that was pushing the people of the Middle East straight into the abyss, noting that time was running out to act.

Antonio Guterres also condemned Iran's missile attack on Israel. The 15-member Security Council met amid growing concerns about a wider war in the Middle East.

In a related development, on October 2, the German Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian Ambassador regarding the missile attack on Israel on the evening of October 1.

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said the agency summoned the Iranian Ambassador over the issue, but the Ambassador was not in Berlin and the Charge d'Affaires was present instead.

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaaf Scholz affirmed that Berlin will continue to make efforts to broker a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

Another European country, Austria, also summoned Iran's envoy to express its opposition to Tehran's actions, which it said were a dangerous escalation in an already tense situation. The Austrian Foreign Ministry called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to reduce tensions.