EU Urges For Restraint After Airstrike On Iranian Embassy In Damascus
The European Union on Wednesday called for restraint after an airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus killed seven Revolutionary Guards.
The European Union on Wednesday called for restraint after an airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus killed seven Revolutionary Guards.
Iran attributed the attack to Israel, which resulted in the deaths of two of its generals and five military personnel at its embassy compound in Damascus. Israel, however, has not acknowledged responsibility for the strike, which stands as one of the most consequential attacks on Iranian interests in Syria to date.
"In this highly tense regional situation, it is imperative to show utmost restraint," Peter Stano, a spokesperson for the executive European Commission, said in a post on X.
The block also censured the attack saying that “The principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel must be respected in all cases and in all circumstances in accordance with international law."
However, some users slam the move by EU saying Europe is continuing to act as the "protective shield" of the Islamic Republic.
Jason Brodsky, policy director for think tank United Against A Nuclear Iran also slammed the EU saying “The European Union is condemning an attack targeting the IRGC terrorists commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, whom it has sanctioned, and in the process falls hook, line, and sinker for the Iranian fiction that this was a diplomatic compound.”
Iran refrained from engaging in direct conflict with Israel amid the six-month conflict against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza, while simultaneously backing its allies' strikes on Israeli and US targets.
Nevertheless, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pledged retaliation for the airstrike on Monday, which obliterated a consular building adjacent to the primary embassy complex in Damascus' upscale Mezzeh district which experts say was in fact a military compound.
Pyongyang has transferred ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia, while Iran has also provided Moscow with the supply of Shahed suicide drones, frequently used to attack Ukrainian infrastructure.
In return, Russia has provided technology and supplies that help expand missile and nuclear capabilities of its allies.
Iran has provided well over 1,000 drones since mid-2022, that are often used to swamp Ukrainian air defenses during large-scale missile attacks on civilian targets.
Western powers are increasingly concerned Tehran could soon also transfer ballistic missiles to Russia.
"Russia's friends in Asia are vital for continuing this war of aggression," Stoltenberg said as ministers met in Brussels.
China was also "propping up Russia's war economy," he said.
"This has regional and global security consequences," Stoltenberg said, adding that the ministers would discuss how to handle the issue.
In February, Reuters reported that Iran has provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, citing six sources, in a sign of deepening military ties between the two US.-sanctioned countries.
While Washington and other Western officials have repeatedly warned Iran against providing such weaponry to Russia, they have not confirmed that Moscow has taken delivery of the missiles.
Both the G7 and the European Council have said that such a step would lead to major consequences in its relations with Tehran and said third parties who provide weapons could also face further measures.
European diplomats have said potential measures on Iran could include targeting Iran Air, banks in Europe and even the possibility of reimposing UN Security Council sanctions as part of a nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.
NEW IRAN SANCTIONS?
According to five European diplomats, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Netherlands, the Baltic States, Czech Republic, Denmark and Romania sent a letter on February 19 to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell asking for new EU-wide sanctions on Iran.
The new measures would be two-pronged. Further sanctions would target Iran's support of Russia, but there would also be new measures focused on Iranian individuals and companies that arm, finance and train proxies in the Middle East as well as possible sanctions on the groups themselves, the diplomats said.
Initial discussions have taken place at EU level, but some of the 27-member states remain opposed.
According to the diplomats, Borrell responded cautiously to the ministers saying there was an existing legal basis for measures against Islamist militant group Hamas.
He also warned that any new sanctions should be carefully considered to ensure they were legally sound, but also avoided harming its activities in the region, notably in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, for which the EU is a facilitator.
However, these talks have made no progress since they began in April 2021. Iran has in the meantime accelerated its uranium enrichment, stockpiling enough fissile material for at least three nuclear bombs.
"There is a rather clear triangle with Russia, Iran and North Korea. Both Iran and North Korea supplying weapons and ammunition to Russia, which is then using these weapons and ammunition to try to destroy Ukraine. So that is a very real cooperation, which is a great concern to everyone" Latvia's Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins.
(With reporting by Reuters)
