NICOSIA — Iran has asked Cyprus to convey “some messages” to Israel, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday, as the eastern Mediterranean island appealed for restraint in a rapidly escalating crisis in the Middle East.
However, Iran swiftly denied the claim, with its Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei saying Iran did not send any message to Israel via a third country.
The contradicting claims came as Iran fired barrages of rockets and drones at Israel, which has been conducting waves of airstrikes against the Islamic Republic to remove what it says is the “immediate” and existential threat of Iran’s nuclear development program.
Christodoulides spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, and he has also spoken to the leaders of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Greece, his office said.
Earlier, Christodoulides told journalists Iran had asked Cyprus to convey “some messages” to Israel, but he did not say who specifically the messages were from or what they said.
Cypriot officials offered no clarity on the nature of the messages, which came after the Cypriot foreign minister spoke to his Iranian counterpart on Friday night.
Christodoulides also said he was not happy with what he said was a slow reaction by the European Union to the unfolding crisis in the Middle East.
Cyprus, the EU member situated closest to the Middle East, had asked for an extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, he said. Projectiles sent by Iran to strike Israel were visible from various locations across Cyprus on Friday and Saturday night.
“It is not possible for the EU to claim a geopolitical role, to see all these developments, and for there not to be at the very least a convening of the Council of Foreign Ministers,” Christodoulides told journalists.
Cyprus has offered to assist in the evacuation of third-party nationals from the region, and has called on all sides to refrain from actions that could escalate the conflict.
Though Israel has intercepted most of the rockets and drones fired by Iran, some have slipped through the defenses, and missiles overnight Saturday hit urban areas, killing 11 people and injuring over 200.
Despite publicly rejecting nuclear arms, Iran’s leaders, who are sworn to destroy Israel, have stockpiled uranium enriched to 60% — far beyond what is needed for civilian use and a short technical step from weapons-grade.
Netanyahu said Friday that he had given the order to attack Iran as it had become clear that Israel could not wait any longer to stop Iran’s nuclear weapon ambitions.