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UK, Italy call on Israel to stop any move fueling tensions in West Asia region

Thursday, 18 April 2024 6:55 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 18 April 2024 6:55 AM ]

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron (L) meets Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the occupied la-Quds on April 17, 2024.

Britain and Italy have called on Israel to refrain from any acts that will fuel tensions in West Asia, days after Iran punished the regime for its terrorist attack against the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic premises in Syria.

Speaking on a visit to the occupied al-Quds on Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron warned that an escalation of regional tensions is in “no one's interest.”

“We hope that anything Israel does is as limited and as targeted and as smart as possible,” he said after meeting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The top British diplomat also took to X to say that any Israeli act “must do as little to escalate this conflict as possible,” noting that the focus should be on getting more aid into the Gaza Strip and releasing Israeli captives held in the Palestinian territory.

On April 1, Israeli warplanes bombed the consular annex of Iran's embassy in Damascus. The terrorist air raid killed 13 people, including seven military advisers of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

During the weekend, Iran exercised its inherent right of self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter and conducted a large-scale retaliatory operation that involved firing hundreds of missiles and drones at military sites in the occupied lands.

Iran says concluded retaliatory strikes on occupied territories, warns against Israeli response

The chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces says the country has concluded its retaliatory strikes on the occupied territories, warning of a “stronger” reaction if the Israeli regime responds.

Left humiliated by the major attack, Israel mulls next move but its allies have called for restraint amid fears of a regional war.

In remarks similar to those by Cameron, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had spoken to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, and urged the regime to not only de-escalate any reaction to Iran but to refrain from a planned offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

“I reiterated this message and I believe … a similar message will be sent,” during a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) nations in the Italian island of Capri, he told state-run RAI television.

Also in an interview with Italian daily La Stampa, Tajani called on Israel to halt its Gaza onslaught.

“Now a ceasefire is necessary. Israel must stop the military operations that have massively affected the Palestinian population” he said.

Israel waged a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

So far, Israel has killed at least 33,899 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 76,664 others.

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