“Ministers ask all actors in the region to step back from the abyss!” With these dramatic words, the high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, made a appeal to Iran and Israel by videoconference, after the extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers. Borrell said Iran’s unprecedented direct attack on Israel was a decisive escalation. The objective now is to prevent it from going any further.
The attacks and counterattacks must end, otherwise the Middle East will be embroiled in a full-scale war. All EU foreign ministers agree on this, said Borrel, who hopes for moderation on the part of Israel and Iran.
Some foreign ministers, including Germany’s Annalena Baerbock, called for tougher sanctions against Iran’s theocratic regime. Borrell said that expanding the sanctions that already exist is now being considered. For example, sanctions against the Iranian manufacture of drones, which were previously sent to Russia. These restrictions will extend to the entire Middle East region. Decisions on this will possibly be made next week.
Other ministers suggested imposing sanctions on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, an elite Army unit and include it as a terrorist group, as was done with Hamas. Until now, this has failed due to legal obstacles, because for this the Iranian guard must have committed a specific act in an EU Member State. To date, no case of this type has been reported, Borrell stated. EU lawyers will reassess the matter.
“We must not forget Gaza”
Josep Borrell had previously praised German Minister Baerbock’s most recent trip to Israel. According to the Spanish politician, she could influence something, because Germany has a strong bond with Israel. Borrell, who in Israel is considered too close to the Palestinians, emphasized in Brussels that the EU is firmly on Israel’s side to protect it from Iran’s attacks. “But we must not forget the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.”
Borrell reiterated the joint call of EU ministers for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, to free the Israeli hostages held by Hamas terrorists and allow supplies to the civilian population.
The G7 debates the Middle East
The foreign ministers of the seven most important industrialized countries (G7) will meet, with the presence of Josep Borrell, on Wednesday (04/24/2024) in Capri, Italy. There, they will discuss Iran, Israel, Hamas, the situation in the Gaza Strip and the crises in the Middle East. But in reality, Russia’s war against Ukraine and support for kyiv would have to be the most dominant issues on its agenda.
In accordance with the points agreed by the heads of Government, last weekend, for the next G7 meeting, Iran will be required to stop attacking Israelthe Iranian nuclear program will be criticized – as in the last 20 years of G7 summits – and Israel could be asked to acknowledge having successfully repelled the Iranian attack and that it is not necessary, therefore, to carry out any retaliation.
More help for Ukraine, which asks for air defense like in Israel
Regarding Ukraine, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, will have to explain how his Government will be able to overcome the Republican blockade of 60 billion euros in military and budgetary aid to Ukraine, in the US Congress.
Additionally, France, Britain, Germany, Canada and Japan could announce whether and how they will increase their aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his call to Western partners to provide air defense against drones and Russian missiles. Zelensky said Western allies should defend Ukraine as they defended Israel from Iranian attacks.
The host of the G7, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, rejected Zelensky’s comparison. “The situation in Israel is completely different from that in Ukraine. The Jordanian air forces flew, because Iranian drones and missiles were flying over their territory. The Americans and French did it with their planes, because they have bases in the region,” Antonio Tajani told the ANSA press agency.
Keep reading:
– Israel repels an unprecedented attack by Iran that escalates confrontation in the Middle East
– President Joe Biden condemned Iran’s attacks on Israel
– The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting at the request of Israel