Western leaders have called for de-escalation following an attack reportedly carried out by Israel on Iranian territory early Friday, amid growing fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East.
“We have to do everything possible [so] that all sides restrain from the escalation in that region,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters during a visit to Finland on Friday. “It is absolutely necessary that the region stays stable and that all sides refrain from further action,” she said.
“We are working on de-escalation,” United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the end of a meeting of G7 foreign affairs ministers Friday on the Italian island of Capri. “We are not involved in any offensive operation,” he continued.
“The G7 is committed to Israel’s security and achieving de-escalation,” Blinken added.
The New York Times, Washington Post and other media cited Israeli officials confirming the strike was carried out by the Israeli military. Iran fired air-defense batteries early Friday after reports of explosions near a major airbase at the city of Isfahan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
After Tehran bombarded Israel last Saturday night with around 300 missiles and drones, most of which were fended off by Israel and its allies, governments around the world held their breath to see whether Israel would retaliate.
The bombardment followed Israel’s bombing of an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, at the start of April.
Iran has played down Friday’s attack, and said it had no plans to retaliate again.
“It’s a developing situation; it wouldn’t be right for me to speculate until the facts become clearer,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. “We’re working to confirm the details together with allies,” he continued.
“Significant escalation is not in anyone’s interest. What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region,” Sunak added.
“We call on everyone to continue to contribute to de-escalation in the future. De-escalation remains the order of the day,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We will talk about this with all our friends and allies and work together with them in this direction.”
Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot called recent developments in the Middle East “deeply worrying” in a post on X. “It is of paramount importance that further escalation is prevented,” she said.
The reports of an attack by Israel against Iran are “very serious,” Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom wrote, calling it a “very worrying development.”
“De-escalation is absolutely necessary,” Billstrom said.
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