Tehran claims it warned neighbours in advance before striking Israel, US says 'absolutely not true'

Iran-Israel war latest: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Sunday said that Iran gave neighbouring countries of Israel and the US a notice almost 72 hours before its drone and missile attacks on Israel. A senior official in the Biden administration, however, said that there was no warning and that Iran was aiming to cause significant damage. 

The official also said the US contacted Iran via its Swiss intermediaries but didn't get any notice 72 hours before the attack. "That is absolutely not true," the Biden administration official was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters.

He added: "They did not give a notification, nor did they give any sense of... 'these will be the targets, so evacuate them.' " He added that Iran sent the US a message only after the strikes against Israel began, adding that Iran's claim of a warning could be an attempt to compensate for the lack of any major damage from the attack. 

On Saturday, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel in response to a suspected strike by Israel on the Iranian embassy in Syria earlier this month. Most of the drones and missiles were shot down by the Israeli, US, and allied forces before they reached Israel.  An Air Force base in southern Israel was impacted but continued to operate as normal and a young girl was critically injured. 

Top points to know on Iran-Israel conflict so far: 

1. Iraqi, Turkish and Jordanian officials said Iran provided an early warning of the attack last week, including some details. 
2. Two Iraqi sources said that Iran used diplomatic channels to inform them about the attack at least three days before it happened.
3. They said while the exact timing of the attack was not disclosed but Baghdad managed to close its airspace and avoid fatal incidents. 
4. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken dialled Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to ensure a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
5. He thanked Hakan Fidan for Turkey's ongoing engagement to prevent an escalation in the region. 
6. In his call with Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, Blinken said while the US does not seek an escalation in the Middle East region, it will continue to help Israel defend itself. 
7. After Iran's attack against Israel, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) proposed several military options to the government. These options included strikes and refraining from immediate action, as per media reports. 
8. Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the country is on high alert after this attack. He added that operational plans for both offensive and defensive actions have been approved. 
9. Iranian Army Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri said in a televised address that "our response will be much larger than tonight's military action if Israel retaliates against Iran" and told the US that its bases could also be attacked if it helped Israel. 
10. Moreover, India said the escalating tensions in the region should be resolved through "dialogue and diplomacy." In a statement, the foreign ministry called for "immediate de-escalation, exercise of restraint." It also said that India is monitoring the evolving situation closely. 
11. Meanwhile, at the United Nations, the Iranian envoy Amir Saeid Iravani defended the attack as the exercise of a nation's right to self-defence.
12. Iravani said that "the Security Council failed in its duty to maintain international peace and security" after Israel's alleged strike on an Iranian embassy in Syria. Therefore, Tehran had no choice but to respond, Iravani said. He added Iran does "not seek escalation or war," but will respond to any "threat or aggression."