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EU leaders discuss Iran’s unprecedented attacks against Israel, likely to call for restraint

Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli in Brussels to brief joiurnalists following Iran's attacks.

On Tuesday, several EU Foreign Ministers have asked for sanctions against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Borrell said that in order to proceed with such sanctions ‘’we need to have a decision by a national authority related with a case of terrorist activities in which the Revolutionary Guards of Iran have been involved. It is not the case for the moment.’’

Asked about the call from the EU and the G7 to de-escalate the situation, Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, said that ‘’it is quite an escalation to shoot hundreds of missiles into a sovereign state. So not to escalate and to say that we can accept this kind of attacks against us, it would send the wrong message to the terror regime in Iran.’’ ‘’No state on earth would suffer this kind of aattack withiut a response so therefore we have the obligation to take serious steps to make sure that these assaults will not happen again,’’ the minister said

European Union leaders, who are meeting for two days in Brussels on Wednesday for a special European Council, are set to discuss the situation in the Middle East in the wake of the unprecedented drones and missiles attacks by Iran on Israel over the weekend.

‘’Developments over the weekend have exacerbated an already highly volatile situation in the region. We must condemn the recent attack by Iran against the people of Israel and unite in urging all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, respect international law, and avoid action that may increase tensions,’’ wrote European Council President Charles Michel in his invitation letter to the 27 leaders.

On Tuesday, EU Foreign Ministers discussed expanding EU sanctions against Iran following the attacks.

‘’The region is at the edge of an abyss,’’ EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at a press conference after the  meeting by video conference. ‘’We are in front of a kind of chess board game. One attacks the other] one, the other responds, then the other responds. And if at every step of this game, the level of the response is increasing, at the end of the steps, we will be in a full out war,’’ he added.

He added, ‘’The region does not need a full war, embracing the whole region. The world neither.  And the people in Gaza neither, because if there is a regional escalation and the whole region is at war, then the war in Gaza will not stop, and the suffering of the people in Gaza will increase. ‘’

‘’That is why, today the Ministers took a strong stance asking all actors in the region to move away from the abyss, in order not to fall into it,’’ Borrell said.

During the meeting, all the ministers expressed a ‘’strong’’ condemnation of the Iranian attack and reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to Israel’s security.

He noted that the ministers also  remained united in the objective ‘’to avoid further escalation and call on all actors to show restraint. ‘’

Asked about the call from the EU and the G7 to de-escalate the situation, Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, said that ‘’it is quite an escalation to shoot hundreds of missiles into a sovereign state. So not to escalate and to say that we can accept this kind of attacks against us, it would send the wrong message to the terror regime in Iran.’’ ‘’No state on earth would suffer this kind of aattack withiut a response so therefore we have the obligation to take serious steps to make sure that these assaults will not happen again,’’ the minister said during a briefing for journalists organized by Europe Israel Press Association in Brussels.

Israell Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Herzi Halevi said on April 15 that the launch of more than 300 missiles and drones from Iran at Israeli territory “will be met with a response” but gave no details.

Several EU Foreign Ministers have asked for sanctions against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a major military, political a,nd economic force in Iran. which has been active in repressive activities against the Iranian people. The IRGC has close ties with Iran’s proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

Borrell said that in order to proceed with such sanctions ‘’we need to have a decision by a national authority related with a case of terrorist activities in which the Revolutionary Guards of Iran have been involved. It is not the case for the moment.’’

There is a longstanding demand for the IRGC to be listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz urged more than 30 countries to impose sanctions on Iran’s missile programme.

For the first time, a formal legal petition has been submitted this week by a Paris-based French and Swedish NGO, House of Liberty, to list the IRGC on the EU’s terroris list.

Several European countries, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Czech Republic, summoned the Iranian ambassadors to their respective countries on Monday to convey their condemnation of Tehran’s assault on the Jewish state.

The Iranian envoy “has been summoned to the foreign ministry this morning,” a spokesman for German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters. “alks are currently taking place.”

Berlin also said that Tehran’s unprecedented escalation “brought the Middle East to the brink of the abyss,” urging a diplomatic solution to “secure Israel’s defensive victory.”

French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné told France 2 on Sunday night that he invited Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Aminnejad for a diplomatic dressing-down.

The latter was “reminded in the strongest terms” of Paris’s disapproval of the “irresponsible” attack, which it said “runs the risk of a conflagration,” per a statement that Paris issued after the meeting.

“These grave and unprecedented actions, which threaten the security of Israel and our partners and regional stability, must cease immediately,” Paris added. “France is working with its partners towards a de-escalation and calls for restraint from everyone.”

The top Netherlands diplomat, Hanke Bruins Slot, wrote on Sunday that she summoned the Iranian ambassador “to convey our condemnation regarding the dangerous Iranian attack on Israel.”

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