Europe joins U.S. in urging ally Israel to show restraint
Israeli officials say the war Cabinet favours retaliation but is divided over the timing and scale of any such response; U.S. told Netanyahu that it won’t join any counterattack on Iran, say officials
Israel’s European allies urged the administration on Monday to show restraint over Iran’s weekend missile and drone attack, calling on Israeli leaders to step away from “the edge of the cliff” of escalation in West Asia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war Cabinet, which is empowered to decide on the country’s response, was set to convene on Monday afternoon, a government source said. Israeli officials said the war Cabinet, which also met on Sunday, favoured retaliation but was divided over the timing and scale of any such response.
With the danger of open warfare erupting between Israel and Iran, and tension high over the war in Gaza, U.S. President Joe Biden has told Mr. Netanyahu the U.S. will not participate in any Israeli counteroffensive against Iran, U.S. officials said.
Britain, France, Germany and the EU’s foreign policy chief all joined Washington and UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres in calling for restraint.
“We are on the edge of the cliff and we have to move away from it,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told Spanish radio station Onda Cero. “We have to step on the brakes and reverse gear.”
French President Emmanuel Macron urged Israel to set its sight on isolating Iran rather than escalating the situation.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Iran not to carry out more attacks and said Israel must also contribute to deescalation.
Risk of escalation
Russia has refrained from criticising Iran in public over the strikes but expressed concern about the risk of escalation on Monday and also called for restraint. “Further escalation is in no one’s interests,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Iran launched the attack over a suspected Israeli airstrike on its embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers including two senior commanders. It followed months of clashes between Israel and Iran’s regional allies, triggered by the Gaza war that has spread to fronts with Iranaligned groups in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.