Jerusalem: David Cameron, the UK foreign secretary, has urged Israel to do ‘as little as possible to escalate’ tensions in the Middle East, ahead of talks with PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel declared that it would respond to Iran’s projectile and drone attack over the weekend.
The UK Foreign Secretary is recommending Israel limit its retaliation, as there are concerns it could escalate into a broader conflict. Cameron called on the Israeli administration to act ‘smart as well as tough.’ Shortly after reaching Jerusalem Lord Cameron reported that he was there to show solidarity after that appalling attack by Iran.
“It’s right to have made our views clear about what should happen next, but it’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act. We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible. And in a way that, as I said yesterday, is smart as well as tough. But the real need is to refocus back on Hamas, back on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, back on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza,” Cameron said.
The foreign secretary is scheduled to attend a meeting of G7 ministers in Italy where he plans to call for harmonised embargoes against Iran. He accused Tehran of being responsible for a lot of the negative activities in the Middle East and wants other countries to embrace efforts that will limit the force of Iran. Lord Cameron hopes that the G7 will send a precise and unambiguous message to Iran during the summit.
The United States and the European Union are contemplating additional sanctions against Iran. Also, Israel is urging its partners to organise the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation. The IRGC is a powerful army, political and monetary power in Iran.
Recently, Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel by sending over 300 drones and missiles. However, Israel’s air defence systems, with the assistance of the UK, US, France, and Jordan, thwarted almost all the projectiles.
Iran’s attack on Israel was a riposte to a strike in Syria that occurred in April and led to the death of senior Iranian military figures. Although Israel yet not publicly confirmed it was behind the attack, it is widely considered to be responsible.
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