[ad_1]
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Global Europe Brief. We bring you weekly updates on the EU from a global perspective. You can subscribe to receive our newsletter here.
Concerns are growing that the conflict in the Middle East could significantly escalate following Iran’s first-ever direct attack on Israel.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Avichai Adley said Iran had launched more than 300 “different types of threats” against Israel, including drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.
“We have thwarted 99% of threats to Israeli territory,” Adlai said, calling it “an important strategic achievement.”
Adley said most of the missiles launched by Iran were intercepted outside Israel’s borders, but a limited number fell inside Israeli territory.
The US and UK reportedly helped Israel take off fighter jets and tanker planes from bases in Cyprus to shoot down Iranian drones over Jordan, Iraq and Syria.
In a separate statement, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it had targeted Israeli barracks in the Golan Heights, an Israeli-occupied region of Syria.
The region is open to Iranian retaliation after an Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus earlier this week killed a senior Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps official and eight other staff members. I was wary of sexuality.
World leaders condemned Iran’s attack, with regional powers including Saudi Arabia and Egypt calling for “utmost restraint”.
Across Europe, EU leaders and diplomats condemned Iran’s retaliatory attacks on Israel, and many expressed concern about the risk of a devastating region-wide escalation.
European Council President Charles Michel said European leaders “strongly condemn” Iran’s attack on Israel. “Everything must be done to prevent further escalation in the region,” he said. X.
“Further bloodshed must be avoided. We will continue to closely monitor the situation together with our partners,” Michel added.
EU Chief Diplomat Josep Borrell called Iran’s attack is an “unprecedented escalation and poses a serious threat to regional security.”
French Foreign Minister Stephane Séjournet Said “By taking these unprecedented actions, Iran crosses a new threshold for destabilizing activities and risks potential military escalation.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Verbock Said Germany condemned “in the strongest possible terms the ongoing attacks that threaten to throw the entire region into chaos,” while Belgian Foreign Minister Haja Rabib, who currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, called the attacks “a serious escalation.” and a danger to regional stability.” .
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy was monitoring the situation “with caution and concern” and was “ready to deal with all kinds of scenarios.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez voiced sound Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez expressed his “deepest concern” about events in the Middle East, without directly mentioning Iran, adding that “regional escalation must be avoided at all costs” and that “containment is essential”. It is essential,” he emphasized.
Ireland’s new leader Simon Harris blames Iran prompted “All parties need to show restraint now to avoid escalation of military action and the devastation it would cause.”
Israel has called for a UN Security Council meeting on Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attacks, scheduled to take place on Sunday at 4pm New York time.
Tel Aviv is expected to request An agency that designates the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
Before that, it reported, there had been reassurances from Israeli officials. new york times “Israel’s response will be coordinated with its allies,” he said, adding that a counterattack was unlikely to be launched before the UN session.
US President Joe Biden on Saturday promised a coordinated G7 diplomatic response and said he would convene G7 leaders including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US later on Sunday.
With allies in the region and Israel on high alert, EU diplomats now expect the issue to be on the agenda of this week’s informal EU summit, but initially it will focus primarily on regional competitiveness. It was planned that the response would be limited to.
Unlike Israel’s war in Gaza, there was no significant difference in European condemnation of the Iranian attack.
wider europe
Ukraine’s Promise | According to a draft document from the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Service (EEAS) obtained by Euractic, the EU has compiled a framework document that builds on the EU’s existing and ongoing efforts to provide durable security commitments to Ukraine.
“No Fantasy” | The EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, said this week that a full-scale conflict in Europe is “no longer a pipe dream” and that Europeans have found new ways to financially prepare for a major war on the continent. I warned you that you had to find it.
EU in the world
Hamas sanctions | EU member states have imposed measures under the region’s human rights sanctions regime against Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, citing “widespread” sexual violence during the October 7 attack on Israel.
defense briefing
Forgotten Top Jobs | Ireland, Poland and Slovenia are all in the race to head the EU’s military commission, the EU’s highest military body.
Beware of gaps | Finland’s new president, Alexander Stubb, has proposed a clear distinction between NATO and EU defense missions to avoid concerns about “complementarity”. The former focuses on defense and deterrence, while the latter deals with industrialization. What is he most worried about? Rather than overlap, there are “gaps”.
Shortage of ships | EU operations in the Red Sea to protect commercial shipping from attacks by the Houthi rebels have been successful, but remain limited by a lack of ships and other assets.
what else are you reading
On next week’s radar
- International Humanitarian Conference in Support of Sudan
| Monday, April 15, 2024 | Paris, France - US President Biden entertains Czech Prime Minister Fiala
| Monday, April 15, 2024 | Washington DC, United States - Georgians expected to protest as parliamentary committee considers ‘foreign agent’ law
| Monday, April 15, 2024 | Tbilisi, Georgia - Chinese President Xi Jinping entertains German Chancellor Scholz
| Tuesday, April 16, 2024 | Beijing, China - The 2024 Paris Olympic torch is lit
| Tuesday, April 16, 2024 | Olympia, Greece - Informal EU Summit on Competitiveness, Economy and Current Affairs
| Wednesday-Friday, April 17-19, 2024 | Brussels, Belgium - G7 foreign ministers meeting
| Wednesday to Friday, April 17th to 19th, 2024 | Capri, Italy - UN Security Council Ministerial Meeting on Gaza
| Thursday, April 18, 2024 | New York, United States - Voting begins in India’s general election
| Friday, April 19, 2024 | India - UNRWA, an independent group led by former French FM Colonna, is required to submit a report on its “neutrality”
| Saturday, April 20, 2024 | New York, United States
previous edition
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
Read more at Euractiv
[ad_2]
Source link
