Saturday night’s barrage of Iranian drones and missiles toward Israel has generated enormous global concern. After the president of the United States, Joe Biden, chaired an emergency meeting at the White House, the Italian presidency of the G7 picked up the gauntlet and called a meeting, this Sunday afternoon, of the leaders of the group of democracies richest countries in the world to analyze the situation and coordinate a diplomatic response. After the videoconference, the G7 leaders agreed to unequivocally condemn Iran’s “direct and unprecedented” action, clearly sided with Israel and called for reducing tensions to avoid an “uncontrollable escalation” of the conflict in the Middle East.
“We express our full solidarity and support for Israel and its people and reaffirm our commitment to their security,” the joint statement said. According to the agreed text, with this attack Tehran has taken another step towards the “destabilization” of the region and risks provoking an “uncontrollable regional escalation.” “This must be avoided. “We will continue working to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation,” they insisted.
For this reason, the G7 calls on Iran to stop its attacks and its members declare they are ready to take greater measures “now and in response to greater de-escalation initiatives.” In the message they also committed to continue working for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the Hamas hostages, in addition to providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need.
Despite the G7’s support for Israel, Washington has also made it clear to Prime Minister Beniamin Netanyahu that it is not going to support him in a counterattack against Tehran. Joe Biden himself already stated this during a call on Saturday, and it was reiterated this Sunday by the spokesman for the US Security Council, John Kirby. In an interview with ABC, Kirby emphasized that the White House does not in any way want the US to become more involved in the conflict and indicated that any eventual response to the Iranian attack on Saturday night depends on Israeli forces. and of the sovereign state of Israel.
For the White House, the damage caused by Iran’s launch of drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation for an airstrike in Syria that killed a top Iranian general has been “extremely light” and has demonstrated Israel’s air defense capabilities. for having stopped hundreds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles and doing so with allies such as the US and Jordan. “The president was very clear with Prime Minister Netanyahu about the success they enjoyed last night and the impact that success must have,” Kirby said. The Democratic president’s strategy, according to Kirby, is focused on preventing “this from becoming a broad regional war.” “That’s where his head is still at,” he insisted in another interview with the Fox News channel.
The G7 meeting, in which the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, also participated, was held by videoconference and lasted less than an hour, sources from the Italian Executive reported. Michel noted that the situation in the Middle East, including Lebanon, will be discussed at next week’s European Council. The position of the G7 is also that of the EU. The high community representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, also condemned the Iranian attack and defined the situation as an “unprecedented” escalation and a “threat to regional security.” “The EU reiterates its commitment to Israel’s security. In this extremely tense regional situation, further escalation is in no one’s interest,” Borrell warned. NATO also condemned the aggression and called for restraint from all parties to prevent the conflict from getting “out of control.”
Although the G7 joint statement did not mention it, a senior US official told the country’s press that some of the members of this group are considering designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, something they addressed during virtual conversations. The same source noted that the possibility of imposing more sanctions on Tehran was also considered at the meeting.
