Eduardo González
Yesterday, EU Foreign Ministers addressed the possible expansion of sanctions on Iran after the “unprecedented” attack this past weekend, in which Tehran attacked Israel directly with missiles and drones for the first time.
These events “are unprecedented and represent a significant escalation,” declared the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, from Brussels, at the press conference following the extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council (CAE), held by video conference. “I want to use the same words that the Secretary General of the United Nations (António Guterres) used: ‘The region is at the edge of an abyss, and we have to move away from it,’” he continued.
“Today ministers took a strong stance asking all actors in the region to move away from the abyss, in order not to fall into it,” he added. Furthermore, according to Borrell, the informal ministerial debate showed “the EU’s unity in its strong condemnation of the Iranian attack, its commitment to Israel’s security, its willingness to avoid further escalation, and in the call on all sides to show restraint “.
The High Representative confirmed that work in the coming weeks will focus on increasing the EU’s outreach with all key partners in the region and beyond, and on restrictive measures. This may entail expanding the scope of the existing regime targeting Iran’s military support of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine through drones, to include the possibility to sanction Iranian missiles as well as drone deliveries to Iranian proxies in the Middle East.
The High Representative stressed the need “not to forget Gaza” and recalled that “there is no possibility to build enduring peace in the region if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not resolved.” For this reason, he warned, the EU must continue to work towards an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, the release of the Hamas hostages and addressing the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.
For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, participated in the extraordinary CAE together with his Dutch counterpart, Hanke Bruins Slot, coinciding with the State visit of the King and Queen to the Netherlands. During his speech, as he himself reported through his official account on the social network X, the minister conveyed “Spain’s condemnation” of the attack carried out this past weekend by Iran against Israel and made “a call for containment and de-escalation.” “The region needs peace,” he added.
