MEPs discuss Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel, the need for de-escalation and for an EU response and vote on a resolution on Thursday. EP President Roberta Metsola described Iran’s direct drone and missile attack on Israel on 20 and 21 April as a major escalation in the region and warned it risks igniting further chaos across the Middle East. Opening statement by Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

EU - Iran (T)

EU - Israel (T)

BORRELL FONTELLES, Josep (PSE, ES, EC)

Situation in the Middle East (T)

Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel, the need for de-escalation and an EU response: Opening statement by Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/76072310/1713943008117_I256072Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (English), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, 'Ladies and gentlemen, Members of the Parliament, President. Iran's attack on Israel and the need for de-escalation and about our response to these events. Yes, on 13th of April, Iran's attack against Israel was unprecedented. It never happened before. It is the first time that Iran directly attacked Israel from its territory with hundreds, hundreds of drones and missiles. All these without forgetting the Israeli attack that preceded it, and that I also, we also, condemn when this happened.

SOUNDBITE (English), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, This attack represents a major escalation of an already very tense situation in the region where we have witnessed dangerous games of attacks and retaliation. Retaliations and attacks. And I want to use the same words that the United Nations Secretary General Guterres used at the Security Council. He said the region is at the edge of an abyss.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, 'These are not empty words. Undoubtedly, this continuous interaction of war-nature will leave us, will lead the region, and all of us actually, to an extremely dangerous situation. Now it appears that we've moved a little bit towards the abyss, the edge of that abbess. And we have explosions in Isfahan, in Iran. But neither Israel nor Iran have used these particular explosions as a kind of springboard for escalation. There is the possibility of discussion, and our issue is to draw attention to the situation right now so this escalation doesn't continue and doesn't turn into further risk.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, It is an extremely volatile situation in the northern borders with the situation with Hezbollah, where we've seen Lebanon once again embroiled in an extremely fragile situation, and the United Nations have clearly said that any mistake made by either of the parts may lead to a terrible conflict. Further conflict and the exchange of fire on the Lebanese borders has led to a situation, which we haven't seen since 2006. The 27 leaders of the European Union, and we to at the level of the Commission, we have sent out a strong message calling for peace.

SOUNDBITE (English), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, 'We have taken a strong stance asking all actors in the region to move away from this abyss, a vision that the Secretary-General was mentioning. We discussed it at the foreign ministers level on Monday. We all clearly condemned the Iranian attack and confirm our commitment to the security of Israel. There is a political consensus to expand the existing sanctions against Iran. The foreign affairs ministers in the meeting, together with the defence ministers, took a political agreement that will be implemented on the next days in order to use he sanctions regime that we already have, because from time to time people ask for something that we already have.

SOUNDBITE (English), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, We have a sanctions regime against Iran for providing a drones to Russia. While the sanctions regime can now be used to sanction the production and potential transfer of missiles from Iran to Russia. I'm saying the potential transfer, but also the production itself, and also to target the Iranian delivery of such weapons in the Middle East and the Red Sea region. You know what I am talking about, the Red Sea region will have a Navy mission to try to protect the freedom of navigation.

SOUNDBITE (English), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Let me add that sanctions are important tool and we have used them to send a clear message to Iran about their dangerous proliferation activities aiming at the destabilisation of the region. However, I think that we have to understood that sanctions alone are not a policy. Sanctions are tools of a policy, and sanctions alone cannot deter Iran. This should be evident after years and years of international sanctions. Iran is together with North Korea, the most sanctioned country in the world.

SOUNDBITE (English), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Sanctions alone cannot solve the risk of escalation, and place has to be given to diplomacy. Diplomatic action has to be equally important. I think this is a moment for diplomacy. To deploy maximum diplomatic efforts, to act, to calm down the situation, and ask everybody to play its part. EU Member States were in touch with key actors because the EU keeps open channels with all sides. That what we talk at the G7 meeting, ministers for foreign affairs meeting in Capri some days ago. And as you know, I am regularly in touch with the Iranian foreign minister in order to stress him how deplorable are these attacks and worrying that we are closer to a full regional conflict.

SOUNDBITE (English), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, In the past days, we also coordinated our efforts to reach out to Israel to show restraint and to Arab Gulf countries to use their influence. We had a meeting with the ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Luxembourg. I think it was on Monday night immediately after he came to Strasbourg to share with you the debates. But this was an important occasion for the ministers of foreign affairs of the 27 and the ministers for the Gulf Cooperation Council to exchange about the situation in the Middle East. Well, despite of attacks, counterattacks have low down. But the situation remains stable, unstable and dangerous.

SOUNDBITE (English), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Finally, why we pay all the necessary attention to the Iranian attack on Israel and the risk of escalation. Let us not forget what's going on in Gaza. You heard the news. You read the news. Gaza remains the epicentre of the regional tensions, it is the focus sending shockwaves around the region and around the world.

SOUNDBITE (English), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, 'Gaza remains the epicentre of the regional tension, and it will be like this as long as the war continues. More fundamentally that the Israel-Palestinian conflict is not resolved. So we have to be able to build peace and stability in the region. Taking into account, all the conflicts that are developing there. Taking into account our absolute commitment for the defence and the existence of Israel, but also to take into account the high human cost of the conflicts raging there.

SOUNDBITE (English), Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, European voice has to be the voice of the region, trying to decrease the humanitarian sufferings and look for a stable peace that, from our point of view, can only be obtained through a political process that leads to a two state solution. But it is another story. Thank you.