Jerusalem has told Arab countries their security will not be placed at risk due to any IDF response to Iran’s attack on the Jewish state over the weekend, Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported.
The Israeli government reportedly conveyed the message to Egypt, Jordan and allied Gulf states, amid fears that Tehran could hold them accountable.
Israel’s War Cabinet is in the process of deciding on a “painful” response to the Islamic Republic’s massive drone and missile assault overnight Saturday.
Employing virtually identical terminology following the Islamic Republic’s aerial attack, Arab states called for de-escalation, urged all parties to exercise “utmost restraint” and carefully avoided condemning Iran.
Jordan’s Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh said on Sunday that escalation would lead the region down “dangerous paths” and called for all parties to stand down.
Cairo also refrained from condemning Iran, with its foreign ministry only expressing “deep concern” and urging all sides to exercise “utmost restraint.” (In contrast, Egypt did condemn the April 1 strike in Damascus, attributed to Israel, that killed an Iranian general and several other IRGC officers.)
Saudi Arabia expressed “deep concern…regarding the developments of the military escalation in the region and the seriousness of its repercussions.” Riyadh called “on all parties to exercise the utmost levels of restraint and spare the region and its peoples from the dangers of war.”
The United Arab Emirates, the first signatory to the 2020 Abraham Accords, similarly urged “utmost restraint,” with its Foreign Ministry calling for “resolving conflicts through dialogue and diplomatic channels.”
