Punitive measures being planned
EU calls on Israel and Iran to refrain from attack
April 18, 2024, 1:26 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
Israel will probably not leave the Iranian attack on its territory unanswered. The EU is concerned about possible scenarios. At a summit meeting, the heads of state and government are calling for “utmost restraint.” Sanctions against the Islamic Republic are to be expanded.
The EU calls on Israel and Iran to refrain from further attacks on each other. All parties are urged to exercise extreme restraint and not to take any action that could increase tensions in the region, said a statement released by the heads of state and government at the EU summit in Brussels. The EU remains committed to the goal of contributing to de-escalation in the region.
The background to the statement is the concern that the conflict in the Middle East could develop into a major war if Israel responds with a harsh retaliation to the Iranian drone and missile attack at the weekend. The Iranian attack was triggered by a suspected Israeli attack on the grounds of the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus. At the beginning of the month, two generals from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were killed. Israel has already announced retaliation for the Iranian attack. According to the Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, the counterstrike is intended to hit Iranian military facilities.
Sanctions against Revolutionary Guards unlikely
In addition to the appeal to all parties to the conflict, the statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his colleagues contains a commitment to unrestricted solidarity with the people of Israel and a renewed condemnation of the Iranian attack. The EU will impose further sanctions against the Islamic Republic. “We have to isolate Iran,” said EU Council President Charles Michel. Exactly what the punitive measures should look like initially remained unclear. According to Michel, the focus should be on companies involved in the production of drones and missiles for Iran. “This is a clear signal that we want to send,” said the Council President.
French President Emmanuel Macron had spoken out in favor of linking the sanctions in connection with the war in Ukraine: The EU must sanction all those who are involved in the production of missiles and drones that are used for attacks on both Ukraine and Israel be used, said the French head of state.
The suggestion of sanctioning the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which was put forward by Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, was apparently not initially pursued further. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, among others, had shown restraint here and referred to the complex “legal processes” that were necessary for this.
The two-day summit in Brussels was actually organized to discuss strategies to increase the EU’s international competitiveness. The situation in the Middle East and Ukraine were also put on the agenda due to recent developments.