EU condemns Iranian attacks on Israel, calls for 'utmost restraint'

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The European Union on Sunday condemned Iran's retaliatory attacks on Israel, and warned against further escalation.

"The EU condemns in the strongest terms the Iranian drone and missile attacks against Israel. This is an unprecedented escalation and a threat to regional security," said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a statement on the behalf of member states.

Reiterating its "commitment to the security of Israel," the bloc noted that in this highly tense regional situation, further escalation "can be no one’s interest."

"The EU remains fully committed to contribute to de-escalation and the security of the region and is in close contact with all sides to this end," said the statement, calling on all parties to "exercise utmost restraint."

Sharing the statement on X, Borrell said he just spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to convey these messages and "urge Iran not to escalate further."

Early Sunday, the EU foreign policy chief said he called a video-conference of EU foreign ministers on Tuesday following Iranian retaliation.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in response to the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus that killed several Iranian commanders.

The IRGC is said to have fired more than 300 drones and missiles in an attack that lasted several hours, many of which were intercepted by Israeli air defense systems. The US and France also helped ward off the attack.