Reactions to Iran’s attack: EU chief diplomat condemns Iranian attack on Israel

EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell strongly condemned the “unacceptable Iranian attack against Israel” on behalf of the international community. “This is an unprecedented escalation and a serious threat to regional security,” the EU foreign policy chief wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter) on Sunday night.

EU Council President Charles Michel also condemned Iran’s attack. Everything must be done to prevent further regional escalation, the Belgian top politician wrote on X. “Further bloodshed must be avoided. We will continue to monitor the situation closely together with our partners.”

British PM condemns Iran attack

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has “strongly condemned” the Iranian attack on Israel. “These attacks risk escalating tensions and destabilizing the region,” Sunak said in a statement on Saturday evening. “Iran has once again shown that it intends to create chaos in its own backyard.”

Sunak said Britain would remain committed to the security of Israel and all regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq. “Together with our allies, we are working urgently to stabilize the situation and prevent further escalation. Nobody wants to see more bloodshed,” said Sunak.

Baerbock: “Complete solidarity” with Israel

The German government has condemned the Iranian attack on Israel and called on the leadership in Tehran to stop the attack. “We strongly condemn the ongoing attack, which can plunge an entire region into chaos,” wrote Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on the online platform X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday night. Iran and its allied forces must “immediately stop” the attack. “Our solidarity goes out to Israel at this time,” added Baerbock.

Seibert: Germans on site should follow instructions from the authorities

The German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, called on all Germans on site to follow the instructions of the security authorities. “A direct attack like never before: Iranian drones approaching Israel and there can be more to come,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday evening. “I urge all German compatriots to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command and local authorities for your safety.”

Egypt ‘extremely concerned’ about attack against Israel

Egypt has expressed “extreme concern” about the attack against its neighboring country Israel and called for extreme restraint. The attack announced by Iran is a sign of a “dangerous escalation” between the two countries, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday evening. Egypt had previously warned of an expansion of the conflict as a result of “Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.” The government in Cairo is in constant contact with all parties involved in order to stop the escalation. Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel in 1979.

Airspace over Egypt will probably remain open for the time being

According to circles at the airport in Cairo, the airspace over Egypt, which borders Israel in the northeast, remains open for the time being. This applies to all international flights both to destinations in Egypt and to aircraft that cross Egyptian airspace, it was said at the airport on Saturday evening. After the airspace of neighboring Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq was closed, air traffic over the North African country increased. Israel also closed its airspace because of the Iranian attack on the country. Some aircraft landed unscheduled in Egypt or were refueled there.

The Egyptian state airline Egyptair announced that flights to and from Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon would be suspended until further notice due to the closure of their airspace. The reason for the closures was “regional events”.

Iraq and Lebanon close airspace because of attack on Israel

Iraq and Lebanon have closed their airspace. This was confirmed by the Iraqi Transport Minister, Abdel Rasak Sadaui, and the Lebanese Transport Minister, Ali Hamiyeh, on Saturday evening. It had previously become known that Jordanian airspace had also been closed to civil air traffic.

Iran had previously launched an attack against Israel and dozens of drones towards the country. It will take several hours for the drones to reach Israeli territory, said Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari on Saturday evening. Saudi television channel Al Arabiya reported that some of the drones Iran plans to use to attack Israel were launched from Iraq towards the country. According to Iranian state television, Iran also fired missiles against Israel.