Amid Israel-Iran tensions, Musk calls for no missile launches at each other

Billionaire Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has just issued a call for peace amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, two Middle Eastern countries on the brink of a wider war.

Sharing a photo of the rocket on his social network X/Twitter, Mr. Musk wrote: "We should not launch rockets at each other, but at the stars."

The billionaire's post on X appeared at least an hour after information emerged that Israel had launched an attack on an Iranian airport.

However, hours after the incident, an Iranian official told Reuters news agency that there was no missile attack on Iran, refuting previous reports from the US media.

A spokesman for Iran's space agency was also quoted as saying there were no reports of missile attacks and that Tehran's air defenses had shot down several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over Isfahan province, home to the capital city of the same name.

World - Amid Israel-Iran tensions, Musk calls for not launching missiles at each other — Billionaire Elon Musk's post on X/Twitter, April 19, 2024

Meanwhile, two US officials confirmed to CBS News that an Israeli missile hit Iran. Reuters reported that Israel had notified the US in advance of the attack.

Unnamed US officials told CBS News that Israel used ballistic missiles to attack Iran. A US official who spoke to CNN said Washington did not “greenlight” the Israeli attack. The official acknowledged that Israel had informed the US that it would launch an attack on Iran in the coming days.

The Israeli military has not commented on the reported attack, but it said a security meeting is currently underway at the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.

About Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of SpaceX, a California-based spacecraft manufacturer and satellite communications company. The tech entrepreneur made a two-day trip to Israel last November.

During the trip, Mr. Musk was given a tour by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of an Israeli kibbutz destroyed in an attack on October 7 last year by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

After the visit, Hamas invited Mr Musk to the Gaza Strip to see the extent of the destruction caused by the Israeli bombardment. Israel retaliated with airstrikes on Gaza after the October 7 attack, sparking a fierce war that has lasted more than six months.

Starlink, the satellite internet network owned by SpaceX, won a license this February to operate in Israel and parts of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government said it approved the use of Starlink's service at a field hospital in Gaza. Starlink also agreed to block Hamas from accessing its internet services .

Minh Duc (According to NDTV, TRT World)

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