Saudi, UAE: Spare region from the dangers of war

Israel will make its own decisions about how to defend itself, says Netanyahu

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called for maximum “self-restraint” in West Asia to spare the region “from the dangers of war and its dire consequences,” in an unusually frank joint statement Wednesday.

The comments came after a call between Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as tensions escalate following Iran’s missile and drone strikes on Israel on Saturday night.

The leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE discussed developments in West Asia and the dangerous repercussions on security and stability, the UAE’S state-run WAM news agency reported. The call was initiated by the Emirati leader, Saudi Arabia’s state-run news agency SPA said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said that Israel will make its own decisions about how to defend itself, as Western countries pleaded for restraint in responding to a volley of attacks from Iran.

Israel PM meets Germany, UK foreign ministers

Netanyahu met the German and British foreign ministers, who both travelled to Israel as part of a coordinated push to keep confrontation between Israel and Iran from escalating into a regional conflict fueled by the Gaza war.

Netanyahu’s office said he thanked David Cameron and Annalena Baerbock for their support, while telling them: “I want to make it clear — we will make our own decisions, and the State of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself.”

Earlier, Cameron said it was now apparent Israel planned to retaliate for the Iranian missile and drone strikes.

Baerbock said escalation “would serve no one, not Israel’s security, not the many dozens of hostages still in the hands of Hamas, not the suffering population of Gaza, not the many people in Iran who are themselves suffering under the regime, and not the third countries in the region who simply want to live in peace.”

G-7 weighs new Iran air sanctions

Some Group of Seven (G7) nations are considering fresh sanctions on Iran Air in response to Tehran’s April 13 attack on Israel, a move that would further curb the Iranian carrier’s flights to Europe.

The sanctions would be part of a broader array of punishments meant to further isolate Iran after the attack.

A final decision on the measures to impose on Iran has yet to be finalised.