European leaders have condemned the retaliatory attack by Iran on Israel late Saturday amid soaring fears of a major escalation in the Mideast conflict.
Tehran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones against targets in Israel, Iranian state media reported, in a move that could spark an escalation in the fighting in the Middle East. Iran had threatened to retaliate against a deadly Israeli strike on its consulate in Syria.
The Israeli military said the launches numbered more than 300 but 99 percent of them were intercepted. U.S. President Joe Biden said American forces helped Israel down “nearly all” the drones and missiles and pledged to convene allies to develop a unified response.
European Council President Charles Michel said EU leaders “strongly condemn” the attack by Iran on Israel. “Everything must be done to prevent further regional escalation,” he said in a post on X.
“More bloodshed must be avoided. We will continue to follow the situation closely with our partners,” Michel added.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen denounced “Iran’s blatant and unjustifiable attack on Israel,” in a statement on X. “I call on Iran and its proxies to immediately cease these attacks.”
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Iranian strikes “risk inflaming tensions and destabilizing the region.” Tehran has “demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard,” he said.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the Iranian attack “an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security.”
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the Iranian attack “risks igniting further chaos across the Middle East,” adding that the EU “will keep working to de-escalate and stop the situation spiralling into more bloodshed.”
The region had been on high alert for a possible retaliatory attack from Iran after an Israeli strike killed a senior Iranian officer at an embassy in Syria. U.S. officials had deemed the threat from Tehran as real and viable. Biden noted that “the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week” in anticipation of an attack.
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said some of the missiles fired by Iran landed inside Israel, including one that hit and caused minor damage to an IDF base in the south of the country. “Only one little girl has been hurt,” Hagari said.
The Israeli government has called for an emergency meeting at the U.N. Security Council. Meanwhile, Iran’s permanent mission to the U.N. said in a statement on X that the attack “can be deemed concluded” and “should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe.” The U.S. “must stay away,” the statement said.
