Iran launched an attack against Israel and sent drones towards the country. International reactions followed promptly.
After the Iranian attack on Israel, US President Joe Biden assured the country of US support. “Our commitment to Israel’s security against the threats posed by Iran and its proxies is unwavering,” Biden wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday evening (local time). He also published a photo of a meeting with his crisis team in the Situation Room, the operations center in the White House. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will take part in Saturday’s discussions, can also be seen on it.
EU chief diplomat: “This is an unprecedented escalation”
EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell strongly condemned the “unacceptable Iranian attack against Israel” on behalf of the international community. “This is an unprecedented escalation and a serious threat to regional security,” the EU foreign policy chief wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter) on Sunday night.
EU Council President Charles Michel also condemned Iran’s attack. Everything must be done to prevent further regional escalation, the Belgian top politician wrote on X. “Further bloodshed must be avoided. We will continue to monitor the situation closely together with our partners.”
UN chief Guterres: Real danger of devastating escalation in the Middle East
After the attack, UN Secretary General António Guterres sees the risk of a catastrophic deterioration of the situation in the Middle East. “I am deeply concerned by the very real threat of devastating escalation across the region. I call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid actions that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East,” shared Guterres on Saturday (local time) in New York. He condemned Iran’s attack “in the strongest possible terms” and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
British PM condemns Iran attack
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has “strongly condemned” the Iranian attack on Israel. “These attacks risk escalating tensions and destabilizing the region,” Sunak said in a statement on Saturday evening. “Iran has once again shown that it intends to create chaos in its own backyard.”
Sunak said Britain would remain committed to the security of Israel and all regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq. “Together with our allies, we are working urgently to stabilize the situation and prevent further escalation. Nobody wants to see more bloodshed,” said Sunak.
Scholz: Iran risks regional conflagration
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has “strongly condemned” the serious Iranian air strikes on Israel. “With this irresponsible and unjustifiable attack, Iran is risking a regional conflagration,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Sunday after the Chancellor’s arrival in the economic metropolis of Chongqing, where the SPD politician is beginning his three-day visit to China. “In these difficult times, Germany stands closely by Israel’s side. We will now discuss further reactions closely with our G7 partners and allies.”
Baerbock: “Complete solidarity” with Israel
The German government has condemned the Iranian attack on Israel and called on the leadership in Tehran to stop the attack. “We strongly condemn the ongoing attack, which can plunge an entire region into chaos,” wrote Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on the online platform X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday night. Iran and its allied forces must “immediately stop” the attack. “Our solidarity goes out to Israel at this time,” added Baerbock.
Seibert: Germans on site should follow instructions from the authorities
The German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, called on all Germans on site to follow the instructions of the security authorities. “A direct attack like never before: Iranian drones approaching Israel and there can be more to come,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday evening. “I urge all German compatriots to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command and local authorities for your safety.”
Egypt ‘extremely concerned’ about attack against Israel
Egypt has expressed “extreme concern” about the attack against its neighboring country Israel and called for extreme restraint. The attack announced by Iran is a sign of a “dangerous escalation” between the two countries, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday evening. Egypt had previously warned of an expansion of the conflict as a result of “Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.” The government in Cairo is in constant contact with all parties involved in order to stop the escalation. Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel in 1979.
Airspace over Egypt will probably remain open for the time being
According to circles at the airport in Cairo, the airspace over Egypt, which borders Israel in the northeast, remains open for the time being. This applies to all international flights both to destinations in Egypt and to aircraft that cross Egyptian airspace, it was said at the airport on Saturday evening. After the airspace of neighboring Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq was closed, air traffic over the North African country increased. Israel also closed its airspace because of the Iranian attack on the country. Some aircraft landed unscheduled in Egypt or were refueled there.
The Egyptian state airline Egyptair announced that flights to and from Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon would be suspended until further notice due to the closure of their airspace. The reason for the closures was “regional events”.
Iraq and Lebanon close airspace because of attack on Israel
Iraq and Lebanon have closed their airspace. This was confirmed by the Iraqi Transport Minister, Abdel Rasak Sadaui, and the Lebanese Transport Minister, Ali Hamiyeh, on Saturday evening. It had previously become known that Jordanian airspace had also been closed to civil air traffic.
Iran had previously launched an attack against Israel and dozens of drones towards the country. It will take several hours before the drones can reach Israeli territory, said Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari on Saturday evening. The Saudi television channel Al Arabiya reported that some of the drones with which Iran plans to attack Israel were launched from Iraq towards the country. According to Iranian state television, Iran also fired missiles against Israel.