April 19 (Reuters) – Israel carried out an attack on Iranian territory on Friday, sources said, days after Iran struck Israel with a barrage of drones and missiles.
Here are reactions to the Israeli military response, from official statements and postings on social media:
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES:
“It is high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East. The Secretary-General condemns any act of retaliation and appeals to the international community to work together to prevent any further development that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond.”
EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN:
“It is absolutely necessary that the region remains stable and that all sides restrain from further action.”
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK:
“Significant escalation is not in anyone’s interest. What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region.”
JORDAN FOREIGN MINISTER AYMAN SAFADI:
“We warn against the danger of regional escalation. We condemn all actions that threaten dragging the region into war. Israeli-Iranian retaliations must end. The inhumane war on Gaza must end now. The focus of the world must remain on ending the catastrophic aggression on Gaza.”
GERMAN CHANCELLOR OLAF SCHOLZ:
“De-escalation remains the order of the day in the near future. And we will also talk about this with all our friends and allies, and work together with them in this direction.”
G7 FOREIGN MINISTERS:
“We urge all parties to work to prevent further escalation. The G7 will continue to work to this end.”
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
“The (foreign) ministry affirmed the importance of reaching substantial solutions to the ongoing disputes and crises in the region aimed at de-escalating tensions, in addition to resolving conflicts through dialogue and diplomatic channels, and for adhering to the rule of law and respecting the United Nations Charter.”
DEPUTY FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER JEAN-NOEL BARROT:
“All I can say is that France’s position is to call on all actors for de-escalation and restraint.”
BEN SAUL, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON COUNTERTERRORISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS:
“Israel’s latest strikes on Iran are another violation of the prohibition on the use of military force under international law & the UN Charter, and threaten the human right to life.”
JAPAN’S CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY YOSHIMASA HAYASHI:
“Japan is deeply concerned about the situation in the Middle East and strongly condemn any actions that lead to the escalation of the situation.
“Japan will continue to make all necessary diplomatic efforts to prevent the situation from worsening further.”
CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON:
China opposes any action escalating tensions in the Middle East after the Israeli attack on Iran.
SENIOR HAMAS OFFICIAL SAMI ABU ZUHRI:
“We call for the scale of the engagement against the (Israeli) occupation to be expanded in response to the war of genocide in Gaza and the escalation in the region.”
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, Editing by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
