Germany urges Iran not to take military action against Israel

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday voiced concern over the potential escalation in the Middle East, and urged Iran not to take military action against Israel.

“We are taking very seriously the dangers that are emerging there with regard to possible actions by Iran,” Scholz told a news conference in Berlin, amid media reports that claimed Iran could retaliate against Israel within the next 24 to 48 hours.

Chancellor Scholz said the German government has been talking with its Western allies, as well as its partners in the region, to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East.

“Both I and the foreign minister, and the entire government, have done everything possible, as many of our partners, to send out the right messages and make it clear that there should not be any such military activity there,” he told reporters.

Israel is on high alert amid fears of a possible Iranian attack in retaliation for an alleged Israeli strike on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus on April 1.

At least seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in the attack, including two top generals.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz threatened Wednesday that his country’s military would strike Iran directly if Tehran launched an attack from its territory against Israel.

The escalation comes as Israel continues to wage a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack in early October by Hamas, which killed around 1,200 people.

More than 33,600 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza and over 76,000 injured amid mass destruction and displacement.