Leaders of the 27 reiterate the call for caution to avoid a “bloodbath” in the Middle East

BRUSSELS, April 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The leaders of the European Union have reiterated this Wednesday the call for caution in the Middle East to avoid a “bloodbath” in the region after the crossed attacks by Israel and Iran, which launched an unprecedented offensive with 300 drones and missiles against Israeli territory last Saturday.

The tension generated by Iran's attack has captured attention in the arrivals at the extraordinary summit of heads of State and Government in Brussels where the Irish Prime Minister, Simon Harris, has expressed condemnation of the “reckless” and “a large scale” in Tehran. “The position is clear, we must focus on de-escalating the crisis and for all parties to show restraint, because if not, a significant catastrophe and bloodbath can be caused in a region that is already unstable,” he stated.

Along the same lines, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has called for “extreme caution” in the region to avoid more civilian deaths. “The last thing we need is an escalation,” he claimed, insisting that “everything must be done so that there are no more deaths in Gaza, Israel or Iran.” “Reactions that go beyond containment can have dramatic consequences,” he warned.

Upon his arrival, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, was “very satisfied” with the wording of the draft conclusions because, he said, it condemns Iran's attack on Israel, and calls for restraint from the parties and a ceasefire. that allows the entry of humanitarian aid and proposes the holding of a Peace Conference, a reference that, however, European sources indicate does not appear in the draft.

The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has stressed that now the parties must deescalate the crisis and Israel use the success of having repelled the Iranian attack to strengthen its position in the region and “not to respond with another massive attack.”

MORE SANCTIONS ON IRAN

EU leaders arrive at the summit with a commitment to impose more sanctions on Tehran for the offensive launched against Israel. The latest draft of conclusions to which Europa Press has had access indicates the adoption of “new restrictive measures against Iran, particularly in relation to unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles”, a line that the bloc's foreign ministers opened in their meeting. emergency this Tuesday.

Thus, the president of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, has defended getting involved in the defense of Israel with more sanctions against Iran. “He is responsible for what is happening in the Middle East, but also for military support to Russia. I hope we are sufficiently demanding with the sanctions policy,” he said.

The German chancellor has defended the sanctions applied by the EU against Iran so far, but has indicated that the leaders of the 27 will have to study what other possible steps can be taken, although he has cooled the option of including Iran's Revolutionary Guard as terrorist group, something that partners such as the Netherlands and Belgium defend, whose prime minister has indicated that the Iranian paramilitary group must be sanctioned. “You need a legal basis and you have to do something sufficiently solid. But just because it is difficult, you don't have to do it,” he stressed.