► The EU calls for “utmost restraint” after Israeli strikes in Iran
The European Union on Saturday called on all parties to show “the greatest restraint” to avoid a “uncontrollable escalation” in the Middle East, after the deadly Israeli strikes in Iran.
“The dangerous cycle of attacks and reprisals risks provoking a further extension of the regional conflict”the bloc of 27 European countries said in a statement. “While recognizing Israel’s right to self-defense, the EU calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid an uncontrollable escalation, which is in no one’s interest. »
► Gulf countries warn of regional conflict
Gulf countries on Saturday condemned Israeli strikes on military targets in Iran, warning against any expansion of the conflict in the region. Like the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemned them and reiterated its “firm position of rejection of the escalation of conflict in the region”Who “threatens the security and stability of countries and people” in the Middle East, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the social network
For its part, the Sultanate of Oman, which maintains close relations with Iran, also condemned the Israeli attack against the Islamic Republic, seeing in it “an escalation that fuels the cycle of violence and undermines de-escalation efforts”. Oman called on the international community to “put an end to these flagrant violations on the territory of neighboring countries”. The sultanate has long played a mediating role between Iran and Western countries.
For its part, Qatar denounced “blatant violation of Iran’s sovereignty”according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, calling “all parties concerned to exercise restraint and resolve their differences through dialogue and peaceful means”.
Also condemning the Israeli strikes, Kuwait said they reflected “the politics of chaos” led by Israel which “endangers the security of the region”. Bahrain, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020, also condemned the“military operation” against Iran, saying “deeply concerned by the continued escalation of tensions” in the region.
► Lebanon: A rescue worker affiliated with Hezbollah killed in an Israeli raid
A rescue worker from an organization affiliated with Hezbollah was killed Saturday in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported in a statement. “A raid by the Israeli enemy on a medical center in Bazouriyeh cost the life of a rescuer from the Islamic Health Committee and injured five, including three rescuers” of this organization, said the ministry.
The Israeli army accuses the Islamic Health Committee of transporting fighters and weapons in its ambulances, which the Lebanese Islamist movement denies.
► Around 80 projectiles were fired by Hezbollah on Saturday into Israeli territory
Environ 80 « projectiles » were fired on Saturday from Lebanon towards northern Israel by the Islamist movement Hezbollah, supported by Iran, the day after Israeli strikes on Iranian territory, the Israeli army announced.
At 3:00 p.m. (12:00 GMT), “around 80 projectiles fired by the terrorist organization Hezbollah crossed (the border) from Lebanon to Israel”the army said in a statement, while the movement fires several dozen rockets into Israeli territory every day. For its part, Hezbollah says it fired rockets at five residential areas in northern Israel
► Israeli strikes in Iran
The Israeli army said on Saturday that it had carried out strikes “precise and targeted” targeting missile manufacturing facilities, surface-to-air missile batteries and other aerial systems in Iran. Iran has confirmed an Israeli attack on military sites in the capital and two other provinces bordering Iraq, deploring “limited damage”. The Iranian army reported the death of two of its soldiers after these strikes on Saturday, in a statement cited by state television.
This attack comes in retaliation after the firing of some 200 Iranian missiles on October 1 on Israel, which had sworn revenge. With these strikes, the Israeli army “completed response to Iran’s attacks on Israel”according to Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, army spokesperson. The Israeli army has been at war against two Islamist movements supported by Iran, Hamas in the Gaza Strip for more than a year and Hezbollah in Lebanon since the end of September.
Tehran condemned the strikes on its own territory, saying Iran “has the right and duty to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression, based on the inherent right of self-defense contained in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations”according to a press release from Iranian diplomacy.
► Calls for restraint on the western side
These Israeli strikes have sparked calls for restraint on the Western side. France called on Saturday “to refrain from any escalation and action likely to aggravate the context of extreme tension” in the Middle East, in a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Likewise, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Tehran on Saturday against any « escalade ». “This must stop now. It is then that the possibility of peaceful development in the Middle East will open up.said Mr. Scholz, in a message on X.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday that “Iran must not respond” to Israeli strikes on military targets, during a press conference at the Commonwealth Summit in Apia, Samoa. “It is clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression, and it is equally clear that we must avoid further regional escalation, and I urge all parties to exercise restraint”he indicated.
The United States on Saturday called on Iran to stop attacking Israel in order to break the cycle of violence. “We urge Iran to stop its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation”declared the spokesperson for the National Security Council of the American executive, Sean Savett.
Moscow was worried about “ongoing explosive escalation between Israel and the Islamic Republic, which poses real threats to the stability and security of the region”. “We ask all parties involved to exercise restraint”added spokesperson Maria Zakharova in a statement.
► Countries in the region condemn Israeli strikes
Turkish diplomacy called for “end the terror created by Israel in the region” et ” sentenced “ Israeli strikes. “We condemn in the strongest terms the Israeli attack on Iran. By committing genocide in Gaza, preparing to annex the West Bank, and killing civilians every day in Lebanon, Israel has brought our region to the brink of greater war. according to the ministry.
For its part, the Iraqi government has warned against “dangerous consequences” resulting from “silence of the international community” facing the “brutal behavior” of Israel.
Syria supported “Iran’s legitimate right to defend itself” against “Israeli aggression” . Pakistan also has ” sentenced “ Israeli strikes on military targets in Iran on Saturday, bringing “full responsibility for the escalation and extension of the conflict” to Israel, which he does not recognize. In Afghanistan, the Taliban government also condemned Israeli strikes in Iran on Saturday, seeing “an attempt to aggravate” the situation in the Middle East,
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, for its part, condemned “with the greatest firmness” Israeli strikes, such as “a blatant violation of Iranian sovereignty and an escalation that threatens the security of the region”said in a statement the formation supported by Iran and at war with Israel in the Gaza Strip for more than a year.
► The Israeli army dynamites houses in a village in southern Lebanon
Lebanese national news agency Ani reported that the Israeli army was dynamiting houses in a southern Lebanese village on the border with Israel, which has been engaged in a war with the Hezbollah movement for more than a month.
For its part, the Israeli army reported “the explosion of a large quantity of explosives in Lebanon”so strong that earthquake warning signals were activated in a large part of Israeli territory. The Israeli army also indicated that it had intercepted a drone coming from Lebanon on Saturday.
