On Thursday, 25 April—a few days after Iran’s massive drone and missile attack on Israel—the European Parliament called on all parties to avoid any further escalation and called for maximum restraint and de-escalation.
In the joint resolution they adopted (357 votes in favour, 20 against, and 58 abstentions), MEPs condemn the attack in the strongest possible terms as well as “the serious escalation and threat to regional security that this represents”, reiterating their full support for the security of the State of Israel and its citizens. They also deplore the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus this past 1 April, reiterating the importance of the principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises (see EUROPE 13383/28).
In addition, MEPs are calling on the High Representative of the Union and Member States to continue and intensify their diplomatic efforts with international partners and to encourage urgent de-escalation and meaningful dialogue.
MEPs welcome the EU’s decision to expand sanctions against Iran, demanding they be put in place as a matter of urgency. In their opinion, more people and entities need to be sanctioned, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) needs to be added to the EU’s list of terrorist organisations. “There have been dozens of IRGC assassinations and [assassination] attempts on European soil in the past few years”, state MEPs, who go on to say that the IRGC has “strong links” with organisations on the EU terrorist list.
Moreover, they say that the EU should prepare additional sanctions in the banking, oil, and aviation sectors “to be imposed in the event that the Iranian regime unacceptably escalates the situation further”.
According to MEPs, the EU should also add Hezbollah in its entirety to the EU’s list of terrorist organisations. At present, only its military wing is on the list.
See the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/byq (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)