Western countries on Tuesday blasted Iran for its ballistic missile attack on Israel and expressed concerns over the potential for the attack to lead to a further escalation of the conflict in the region.
The massive barrage launched by Iran against Israel on Tuesday comprised some 180 ballistic missiles, though the military said it intercepted a “large number” of the projectiles. A 37-year-old Palestinian man was killed by shrapnel in the West Bank village of Nu’eima, near Jericho, and two people were reportedly lightly wounded in Israel proper from shrapnel.
Britain “completely condemns” Iran’s actions after it fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel and calls for de-escalation across the region, the office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
Starmer expressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his country’s “steadfast commitment” to Israeli security and protection of civilians after the attack.
Starmer condemned Iran’s attack on Israel, which began during the leaders’ conversation, in the “strongest terms,” the spokesperson added.
Starmer also spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah, and they underscored the urgent need for a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza.
“The prime minister said he will work alongside partners and do everything possible to push for de-escalation and push for a diplomatic solution,” the spokesperson said.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she condemned the Iranian missile attack in the “strongest possible terms,” saying Iran must stop the attack immediately.
“We have urgently warned Iran about this dangerous escalation. Iran must stop the attack immediately. It is driving the region further to the brink of the abyss,” Baerbock said in a post on social media platform X.
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier said that he was concerned about an “escalation” in the Middle East, as the attack was launched.
“I am speaking now, it is 7:16 pm, at a time when the situation is worsening in the Near and Middle East, with an escalation and an attack, and a direct conflict that seems to be underway between Iran and Israel,” Barnier said in parliament, adding that the situation was “extremely serious.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also condemned the salvo and called for an end to the “spiral of violence” blighting the Middle East, while Spain’s foreign minister demanded “restraint” from actors involved in the conflict.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement condemning the “broadening of the Middle East conflict” that makes no mention of Iran, which launched 181 ballistic missiles at Israel earlier tonight.
“This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire,” Guterres said.
The Hamas terror group meanwhile praised the Iranian missile strikes as avenging the deaths of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] blesses the heroic rocket launches carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran against wide areas of our occupied lands,” a statement said, adding it was “in revenge for the blood of our heroic martyrs.”
Tehran had launched a similar missile and drone attack in April, but Israel, the US, and Western and Arab allies shot down almost all the 300 projectiles. The only injury in that assault was sustained by a seven-year old Bedouin girl in southern Israel.
Tuesday’s assault came hours after a US warning that a wide-scale attack was about to be directed at the Jewish state from Iran, which allowed the IDF to prepare its air defenses and the Home Front Command to warn the population to remain in the proximity of bomb shelters, thereby keeping the number of casualties to a minimum. Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York denied giving prior notice of the attack to the US.
The projectiles launched by Iran on Tuesday night caused a number of craters around Israel.