Iran Dismisses European Calls for Restraint

An Iranian woman walks near a billboard of new Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar hanging on a wall at the Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 12 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian woman walks near a billboard of new Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar hanging on a wall at the Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 12 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Iran Dismisses European Calls for Restraint

An Iranian woman walks near a billboard of new Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar hanging on a wall at the Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 12 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian woman walks near a billboard of new Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar hanging on a wall at the Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 12 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iran's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that calls for restraint regarding Israel from France, Germany and Britain "lack political logic and contradict principles of international law.”

The three European countries issued a statement on Monday calling on Iran and its allies to refrain from attacks against Israel following the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month.

The statement was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Tehran and its allies Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have accused Israel of carrying out the assassination. The Israeli government has made no claim of responsibility.

"Without any objection to the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel), the E3 statement impudently requires Iran not to respond to a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Kanaani said.
Kanaani said Tehran is determined to deter Israel and called on Paris, Berlin and London to "once and for all stand up against the war in Gaza and the warmongering of Israel.”

Starmer held a call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday, asking him to refrain from attacking Israel and saying that war was not in anyone's interest, his office said.

Starmer told Pezeshkian he was deeply concerned by the situation in the Middle East and called on all parties to de-escalate to avoid further regional confrontation.

Scholz also spoke by phone Monday with Pezeshkian and “expressed his great concern about the danger of a regional conflagration in the Middle East.”
The German government said Scholz made clear that “the spiral of violence in the Middle East must now be broken.”
 



Russian Missile Attack Forces Ukraine to Shut Down Power Grid

 A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russian Missile Attack Forces Ukraine to Shut Down Power Grid

 A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A serviceman of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade "Khartiia" of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B howitzer towards Russian troops at a position on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 6, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia on Wednesday launched a major ballistic and cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine, targeting energy production and compelling authorities to shut down the power grid in some areas despite freezing winter weather, officials said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that it launched a strike on “critically important facilities of gas and energy infrastructure that ensure the functioning of Ukraine’s military industrial complex.” It didn't give the target locations or other details.

The barrage came a day after the Russian Defense Ministry vowed a response to what it said was an attack on Russian soil using multiple Western-supplied missiles.

Kyiv hasn't confirmed that attack, though it said Tuesday that it hit an oil refinery and a fuel storage depot, a chemical plant producing ammunition and two anti-aircraft missile systems, in a missile and drone attack that reached around 1,100 kilometers (almost 700 miles) into Russia.

Long-range attacks have been a feature of the nearly three-year war, where on the front line snaking about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from northeast to southern Ukraine, the armies have been engaged in a war of attrition. Russia has been advancing on the battlefield over the past year, though its progress has been slow and costly.

Russia attacked Ukraine with 43 missiles and 74 drones overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said. A total of 30 missiles and 47 drones were shot down, and 27 drones failed to reach their target, it said.

The Russian missiles sought out targets from the Lviv region in western Ukraine near Poland to Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine bordering Russia. The state energy company Ukrenergo reported emergency power outages in six regions. It often shuts down production during attacks as a precaution.

“The enemy continues to terrorize Ukrainians,” Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook.

Electricity supplies resumed to households in some areas by the middle of the day, but Ukrenergo urged customers to avoid using power-hungry electrical appliances.

Russia has repeatedly tried to cripple Ukraine’s power grid, denying the country heat, electricity and running water in an effort to break the Ukrainian spirit. The attacks have also sought to disrupt Ukraine’s defense manufacturing industry.

Last September, the UN refugee agency reported that Ukraine had lost more than an estimated 60% of its energy generation capacity.

Ukrainian authorities try to rebuild their power generation after the attack, though the barrages have eroded production. Western partners have been helping Ukraine rebuild.

“It is the middle of the winter, and Russia’s goal remains unchanged: our energy infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

He urged Western partners to accelerate the delivery to Ukraine of promised air defense weapons, emphasizing that “promises have been made but not yet fully realized.”