In Tel Aviv, German foreign minister calls on Israel to act ‘prudently, responsibly’

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - Germany’s foreign minister called on Israel to act “prudently and responsibly” amid fears that its possible response to Iran’s attack could trigger a regional conflagration.

“As a close friend of Israel, I have clearly expressed today my great concern,” Annalena Baerbock told reporters in Tel Aviv, after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The region must not slide step by step into a situation whose outcome is completely unpredictable. Everyone must now act prudently and responsibly,” she said.

Baerbock reaffirmed Germany’s solidarity with Israel, and once again warned Iran, as well as its allies, not to further escalate tensions in the Middle East region.

“As the EU, we have already imposed massive sanctions on Iran, and we are continuing to work on this. At the same time, it is now crucial that this highly dangerous situation does not escalate into a regional conflagration,” she said.

The foreign minister underlined that Berlin now expects all actors to act with prudence and “wise restraint” to prevent wider conflict in the Middle East.

Israel's major allies, including the US and UK, have stepped up their diplomatic efforts this week to persuade Tel Aviv to hold off on a major retaliatory strike, in a bid to avert a wider war in the region.

Iran launched an airborne attack on Israel on Saturday in retaliation for an April 1 airstrike on its diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital. It reportedly fired more than 300 drones and missiles, with almost all intercepted by the air defense systems of Israel and its allies — the US, France, and the UK.