The European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said this Saturday that “we must prevent” the situation in the Middle East from becoming “explosive” after the United States attacked pro-Iranian positions in Iraq and Syria have. and the Israelis in Rafah, south of Gaza.
“Everyone should try to prevent the situation in the region from becoming explosive,” Borrell said in statements to the press upon his arrival at the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels today.
The head of European diplomacy pointed out that the Middle East is “a pot that can explode,” with attacks on the Israel-Lebanon border as well as in Syria, Iraq or the Red Sea since the start of the Gaza war had increased last year. October 7th.
Borrell said that all of these attacks were related and caused a “domino effect,” and therefore called on “everyone to try to avoid escalation.”
The US is attacking targets in Iraq and Syria
The United States yesterday struck dozens of targets in Iraq and Syria believed to be linked to Iran in retaliation for last week’s drone strike that killed three US soldiers in Jordan.
Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib expressed concern about these attacks and assured that “containment and diplomacy” was the only way to reduce tensions in the Middle East, as “violence is never an answer.”
Instead, his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski assured that pro-Iranian groups in the region “have been playing with fire for months and years and now they are burning.”
Spain calls for an end to terrorist attacks against the USA
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called for an end to terrorist attacks against the United States in the region, while his Dutch counterpart Hanke Bruins Slot noted that it was important that American President Joe Biden assured that he would not allow an escalation of the tensions want.
The US strikes coincide with an increase in Israeli bombings of Rafah, a situation the Belgian minister was “extremely concerned” about.
Borrell stressed that “in the south of the Gaza Strip, a million people have gradually moved towards the Egyptian border,” recalling that the Israeli authorities “claimed it was a safe area, but in reality we see that the bombings continue . Impact on the civilian population.
“This creates a very serious situation,” he concluded.
German State Secretary for Europe and Climate Anna Lührmann said it was “irresponsible to speculate about possible aggression in Rafah.”