Brussels (Brussels Morning) – EU Parliament strongly condemns recent Iranian attacks on Israel, urges further sanctions, and calls for regional stability. The resolution highlights concerns over escalating tensions and emphasizes diplomatic resolutions.
In a resolution adopted in the European Parliament, MEPs strongly denounced the recent Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel and urged for further sanctions against Iran. Criticizing the Iranian strikes on 13 and 14 April, Parliament voiced serious apprehension over the escalation and danger to regional security.
According to the Press of the European Parliament, MEPs restated their full support for the protection of the State of Israel and its citizens and condemned the simultaneous rocket launches undertaken by Iran’s proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi rebels in Yemen against the Golan Heights and Israeli region before and during the Iranian attack.
Is the EU Urging Restraint Amid Escalating Tensions?
At the same time, they lament the attack on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on 1 April, which is widely linked to Israel. The resolution recognised the importance of the regulation of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises, which must be admired in all cases under international law.
While urging all parties to bypass any further escalation and to offer maximum restraint, Parliament expresses serious concerns over the destabilising function that the Iranian regime and its network of non-state actors recreate in the Middle East.
Should Iran Face Further Sanctions for Aggression?
MEPs accommodated the EU’s decision to expand its existing sanctions regime against Iran, including by sanctioning the country’s stockpile and production of unmanned drones and missiles to Russia and the wider Middle East. They insisted that these sanctions be urgently put in position and called for more individuals and entities to be targeted.
The resolution also restated Parliament’s long-standing call to include Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the EU list of terrorist associations, stressing that such a conclusion is long overdue due to malign Iranian actions. It similarly urged the Council and EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell to include Hezbollah in its entirety on the same list.
Is Iran’s Nuclear Deal Compliance Under Scrutiny?
With Iran persistently failing to concede with its legal safeguard obligations under its nuclear deal – formally understood as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – MEPs demanded the Iranian authorities immediately abide by these conditions and address all related outstanding issues.
Are European Crewmembers in Iranian Custody at Risk?
They also criticised Iran’s use of hostage diplomacy – keeping foreign nationals detained as bargaining chips – and urged the EU to launch a strategy to oppose it with a dedicated task force to better help detainees’ families and effectively prevent further hostage-taking.
The resolution finally accommodated the Council’s decision to launch the EU Naval Force Operation ASPIDES to defend freedom of navigation off the coast of Yemen, while calling on Iran and entities under its authority to ensure the release and safe return of seized European crewmembers taken from vessels passing in the region.
