JERUSALEM: European allies of Israel urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to exercise restraint following Iran’s weekend missile and drone attack. They called upon Israel to step back from the brink of escalation in the Middle East.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, empowered to decide the country’s response, was scheduled to convene on Monday afternoon, according to a government source.
Israeli officials said that while the war cabinet favored retaliation, there were disagreements within the cabinet regarding the timing and scale of any potential response.
With the threat of open conflict looming between Israel and Iran, and tensions heightened by the ongoing war in Gaza, President Joe Biden categorically told Netanyahu that the United States would not participate in any Israeli counter-offensive against Iran.
Joining Washington and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in advocating for restraint, Britain, France, Germany, and the European Union’s foreign policy chief emphasized the need to avoid further escalation.
Israel’s War Cabinet Divided Over Response
Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, warned, “We’re on the edge of the cliff and we have to move away from it.” French President Emmanuel Macron urged Israel to focus on isolating Iran rather than escalating the situation, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz cautioned Iran against further attacks and called on Israel to contribute to de-escalation efforts.
Despite being Iran’s ally, Russia refrained from publicly criticizing Iran over the strikes. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed concern about the risk of escalation and called for restraint, stating that further escalation was not in anyone’s interests.
Iran launched the attack in response to Israeli airstrike on its consulate in Syria on April 1, which resulted in the deaths of seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers, including two senior commanders.
