Calls for restraint after Iran's attack on Israel and concern about the development of the confrontation

Between condemnation, concern, and calls for restraint, Arab and Western reactions to the attack launched by Iran on Israel on Saturday evening using drones varied.

Reactions to the attack launched by Iran on Israel on Saturday evening using drones varied between condemnation, concern and demands for restraint, while Arab countries rushed to close their airspace and stop shipping traffic, only to open it again on Sunday morning. Other countries prepared to defend Israel and condemned the attack, while Some defended Tehran's right to respond to Tel Aviv's bombing of its diplomatic mission in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Citizens in Iran, Iraq, and the West Bank celebrated the Iranian attack on Israel, while missiles were seen in the Iraqi and Palestinian airspace.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) condemned the "Iranian escalation" on Sunday, calling for restraint for fear of expanding the scope of escalation in the Middle East. NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah said in a statement on Sunday: “We condemn the Iranian escalation overnight, call for restraint and are closely monitoring the situation. It is necessary that the conflict in the Middle East does not get out of control.”

Russia expressed its deep concern about the dangerous escalation in the region and called on all parties to exercise restraint, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, after condemning the attack and “all forms of violence that threaten the safety and well-being of innocent civilians,” said: “We must learn from history and find a way to resolve conflicts from time to time.” Through diplomatic means and avoiding further escalation at all costs.”

European Parliament President Roberta Mitsola said, "Iran's unprecedented attacks on Israel are a major escalation that threatens to ignite chaos in the Middle East," while the Greek government strongly condemned the attack on Sunday.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also condemned, on Saturday evening, Iran’s air attacks on Israel, and in a post on the X platform, Rutte expressed his great concern about the situation in the Middle East, saying: “Earlier today (Saturday), the Netherlands and other countries sent “With a clear message to Iran to stop attacking Israel.”

In this context, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that his country is following developments in the Middle East with interest and concern, following the comprehensive attack launched by Iran against Israel with drones.

European Union High Representative Josep Borrell also condemned the Iranian attack and said it was "unacceptable," describing what was happening as unprecedented tension and a serious threat to regional security.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Ségournet condemned "the expanded attack launched by Iran against Israel." The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Western and French officials, that the French Navy deployed forces to defend Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday condemned “in the strongest terms the attack,” calling at the same time for “restraint” for fear of a greater regional escalation.

In this context, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, on Saturday, strongly condemned the Iranian "air attack" and said: "We are working urgently with our allies to stabilize the situation and prevent further escalation."

Sunak stressed, "Britain will continue to defend the security of all regional partners, including Jordan, Iraq and Israel." He said: "We are working urgently with our allies to stabilize the situation and prevent further escalation. No one wants more bloodshed."

Local sources in the Greek administration of Southern Cyprus reported on Saturday evening that British Royal Air Force fighters and refueling planes had taken off on the island in the wake of the Iranian-Israeli tension.

The sources explained that British Royal Air Force fighters and refueling aircraft took off from Akrotiri Air Base, which has the status of a “sovereign base” near the city of Limassol, affiliated with the Greek Cypriot administration in the south of the island of Cyprus.

In a post on the

The White House: Our support for Israel's security is unwavering

The US White House announced on Saturday that their support is “unwavering for Israel’s security.” “The United States stands with the people of Israel and supports their defense against Iranian threats,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

Watson stated that US President Joe Biden returned to the White House today and followed developments closely with his national security team, and confirmed that American officials are in constant contact with their Israeli counterparts.

The White House said, in a statement, that Biden returned to Washington, boycotting the weekend, and is scheduled to meet with the national security team. Biden will meet with figures such as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Chief of Staff General Charles Brown, CIA Director Bill Burns, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, to follow up on developments in Iran's attack on Israel in the Situation Room.

Closing the airspace of several countries

On Sunday morning, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan announced the reopening of the airspace after “overcoming all risks and re-evaluating them,” according to official statements from the Lebanese Ministry of Transport, the Jordanian Civil Aviation Regulatory Authority, and the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority.

Iraq decided, on Saturday evening, to close its airspace and stop air traffic, coinciding with news of the start of the Iranian response against Israel, while the Jordanian Civil Aviation Authority (governmental) announced the closure of Jordanian airspace to all incoming, departing and transiting aircraft temporarily and as a precaution, starting at 20:00: 00 UTC, which is 11:00 PM local time for the next several hours.

The Jordanian government spokesman, Minister of Government Communications Muhannad Al-Mubaideen, on Sunday denied what was circulated about lifting the state of emergency in the country, coinciding with the start of the Iranian response to Israel.

For his part, Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said on Saturday that any country that opens its air and land space to Israel to attack Iran will receive a decisive response.

Arab anxiety and calls for restraint

On Saturday/Sunday night, Egypt expressed its “concern” about Iran launching attack drones towards Israel, calling on the two countries to exercise restraint.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it "expresses its deep concern regarding the announced launch of Iranian attack marches against Israel, and the indicators of dangerous escalation between the two countries during the recent period." It called for "exercising the utmost levels of restraint to spare the region and its peoples from further factors of instability and tension."

Egypt considered that "the dangerous escalation that the Iranian-Israeli arena is currently witnessing is nothing but a direct result of what Egypt has previously warned repeatedly about the dangers of expanding the scope of the conflict in the region." In this regard, she referred to "the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip (since October 7) and the provocative military actions carried out in the region."

An Egyptian security source also announced, on Saturday/Sunday night, that “Egyptian air defenses are on high alert,” according to what was reported by Egypt’s private “Cairo News” channel, and the same source reported that “Egyptian air defenses are on high alert,” without details. more.

Egypt suspended its flights to Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon due to the closure of airspace in these countries.

For its part, Saudi Arabia expressed its deep concern over the developments of the military escalation and the seriousness of its repercussions, and called on all parties to exercise the utmost levels of restraint and spare the region from the dangers of war, while the Emirates News Agency said that Abu Dhabi calls for exercising the utmost levels of restraint to avoid the dangerous repercussions of the escalation.

Qatar also called, in a Foreign Ministry statement, “on all parties concerned to stop the escalation and exercise the utmost restraint.” She urged "the international community to take urgent action to defuse tension and reduce escalation in the region."

In turn, the Sultanate of Oman stressed, in a Foreign Ministry statement, the importance of self-restraint to spare the region and its people the dangers of war, stressing the need for the Security Council to fulfill its responsibility towards maintaining international peace and security.

In a statement to the Foreign Ministry, Kuwait called for restraint and to spare the region and its people the dangers of escalation. She stressed "the importance of the Security Council fulfilling its responsibilities towards maintaining international peace and security and avoiding wars."

Kuwait Airways also announced, in a statement, “the rerouting of all incoming and outgoing flights away from areas of tension, with flights being scheduled according to their new itinerary.” She attributed this to "the security situation the region is going through, out of concern for the safety of its travelers."

A Jordanian government statement said: "We call for restraint and dealing with discipline and responsibility with the increasing tensions that the region is going through, and not to be drawn into any escalation that will have dangerous consequences."

At the level of Arab organizations, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jassem Al-Budaiwi, called in a statement on “all concerned parties to exercise restraint, to prevent any additional escalation that threatens the stability of the region and the safety of its people.”

At the level of Arab organizations, the Hamas movement considered: “The military operation conducted by Iran against the occupying Zionist entity (Israel) is a natural right and a deserved response to the crime of targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus and assassinating a number of Revolutionary Guard leaders there.”

On Sunday, the Israeli army claimed that most of the Iranian missiles that were launched on the night of Saturday and Sunday were intercepted, but at the same time it acknowledged that a small number of missiles had fallen inside Israeli territory, pointing out that this caused minor damage to a military base and a serious injury in southern Israel, while the television reported The Iranian official, for his part, said that half of the missiles launched hit Israeli targets “successfully.”

At dawn on Sunday, the Home Front Command of the Israeli army announced in a statement the end of the Iranian response, while the Israeli Mini-Ministerial Council for Security and Political Affairs (the Cabinet) authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and Minister Benny Gantz to make decisions to respond to the Iranian attack.

On Saturday evening, Iran announced the launch of a comprehensive attack on Israel using drones. Iranian state television said, “The Revolutionary Guards began an air operation using drones against targets in the occupied territories,” while the Israeli army announced that Iran had launched a drone attack.

The Iranian attack comes in response to the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, at the beginning of April, being subjected to an Israeli missile attack, which resulted in the killing of 7 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, including prominent General Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Israel did not officially acknowledge the assassination of Zahedi, but it did not deny responsibility for the assassination either.