French President Emmanuel Macron’s administration urged Iran to “refrain from any military provocation” against Israel, hours after Israeli forces struck “dozens” of Iranian military installations in Syria.
“France expresses its grave concern following the firing of rockets against Israeli positions in the Golan Heights last night,” the French foreign ministry said Thursday through a spokesman. “It reaffirms its unwavering attachment to Israel’s security and condemns any attempt to undermine it. It underscores the need for all parties to demonstrate restraint in order to avoid a dangerous escalation of tensions in the Middle East.”
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Israel bombarded “almost the entire Iranian infrastructure in Syria” overnight, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said. The attack was provoked by a rocket barrage fired at Israeli territory by Iranian Quds Forces deployed to Syria in support of President Bashar Assad’s attempt to win the ongoing civil war, according to the Israeli Defense Force. The Iran-Assad partnership has alarmed U.S. and Israeli leaders who worry about Iran gaining a permanent military presence on Israel’s border with Syria.
“Iran crossed a red line,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “We responded accordingly. The IDF conducted a large-scale attack against Iranian targets in Syria.”
The clash was not a surprise. President Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, raised the possibility of an Iranian retaliation against Israel. The two sides traded blows in February after an Iranian drone violated Israeli airspace, the first time direct contact occurred between their forces since 1982.
“The United States condemns the Iranian regime’s provocative rocket attacks from Syria against Israeli citizens, and we strongly support Israel’s right to act in self-defense,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said. “The United States also calls on all nations to make clear that the Iranian regime’s actions pose a severe threat to international peace and stability.”
That call was echoed among European allies, including Bahrain, an Arab nation that does not currently have diplomatic ties with the Jewish state, but shares Saudi Arabian and Israeli concerns about Iran’s desire for regional dominance.
“As long as Iran continues the current status quo of its forces and rockets operating in the region, any country — including Israel — has the right to defend itself by eliminating the source of danger,” Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa tweeted Thursday.
The French government cited the clash to emphasize the need for broad negotiations over Iran’s ballistic missiles program and regional aggression. “In this respect, [France] reaffirms the urgent need to negotiate a political solution to the Syrian crisis, calls on Iran to refrain from any military provocation and cautions it against any temptation to seek regional hegemony,” the Foreign Ministry said.
