Photo caption: This video grab from AFPTV taken on April 14, 2024 shows explosions lighting up Jerusalem sky during Iranian attack on Israel. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP)
Western powers condemned Iran’s strikes on Israel late Saturday, warning the attack threatened to escalate the destabilisation of the Middle East.
Here are some of the main reactions so far:
– United States: ‘ironclad’
US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson reiterated President Joe Biden’s “ironclad” support for Israel’s security.
“The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran,” she said in a statement.
She said “President Biden is being regularly updated on the situation.”
– EU: ‘unprecedented’
The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell condemned the strikes as “an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security,” in a message on X.
– Britain: ‘reckless’
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a statement condemned the “reckless” strikes that he said “risk inflaming tensions and destabilising the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard.”
– France: ‘new level’
France’s Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne on X said that “in deciding to take this unprecedented action, Iran has reached a new level in its acts of destabilisation and is risking a military escalation.”
– Italy: ‘concern’
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said his country was following the situation “with attention and concern” and was “ready to manage any kind of scenario”.
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