On Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel, the need for de-escalation and the EU response

B90235/2024

European Parliament resolution on Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel, the need for de-escalation and the EU response

(2024/2704(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran,

– having regard to its previous resolutions and recommendations on the Middle East conflict, in particular its resolutions of 19 October 2023 on the despicable terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza and of 18 January 2024 on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the need to reach a ceasefire and the risks of regional escalation,

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

– having regard to the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly,

– having regard to international humanitarian law, in particular the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols,

– having regard to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961,

– having regard to the press statement of 16 April 2024 by the experts from the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council,

– having regard to all EU sanctions and restrictive measures adopted against Iran,

– having regard to the EU terrorist list and Council Common Position 2001/931/CFSP laying down the criteria for listing persons, groups and entities,

– having regard to Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment,

– having regard to the European Council conclusions of 17 April 2024,

– having regard to the Council conclusions of 12 December 2022 on Iran,

– having regard to the joint statement of 16 April 2016 by then Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and then Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif,

– having regard to the press statements of 14 April 2024 by the High Representative on behalf of the EU and by Commission President Von der Leyen,

– having regard to the joint declaration of the G7 leaders following Iran’s attack against Israel, adopted on 14 April 2024,

– having regard to all press releases and statements on Iran and the region by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Josep Borrell,

– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 13 April 2024, Iran fired over 300 missiles and drones at Israel; whereas about half of the Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Israel reportedly failed to launch or crashed before reaching their targets; whereas approximately 95 % of the drones and rockets launched by Iran at Israel, including 120 ballistic missiles and over 30 cruise missiles, were intercepted by Israel and partners’ air defence systems;

B. whereas these attacks severely injured a seven-year-old Israeli child from the Arab Bedouin community and damaged the Nevatim airbase located in the Negev desert; whereas the family of this child was refused a housing permit by the Israeli authorities;

C. whereas the missiles and drones launched by Iran originated from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen; whereas Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates provided intelligence on the planned strikes; whereas Jordan cooperated in intercepting the missiles and drones alongside the air defence systems of Israel and ‘western allies’, including the US, France and the UK;

D. whereas Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had warned that the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus would not go unanswered and of the significant response to deter Israel from repeating or escalating such attacks;

E. whereas the Iranian attacks were a retaliatory measure against the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on 1 April 2024, in which seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed, including two senior commanders; whereas ⁠since 7 October 2023, Israel has attacked Iranian officials and assets in five airstrikes, in addition to multiple previous attacks; whereas Israel’s latest strike marked an unprecedented escalation against Iran in response to the country’s alleged involvement in the 7 October terrorist attack, as well as a shift in Israel’s strategy towards directly eliminating IRGC leadership;

F. whereas Israel weighed its response to the Iranian attacks of 13 April 2024; whereas Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had indicated that Israel would decide on its own when and how to respond to Iran’s attacks; whereas, according to polls, a large majority of the Israeli population had expressed opposition to further retaliation;

G. whereas US officials confirmed that, during the night of 19 April 2024, Israel carried out some retaliatory military operations with drone attacks in the central province of Isfahan; whereas explosions were heard near the Shekari army airbase in the north-west of the Isfahan province; whereas the US administration had been informed that the attacks were coming in the next 24 to 48 hours; whereas Israel assured that Iran’s nuclear facilities would not be targeted; whereas according to media reports, Iran has no immediate plans for retaliation against Israel;

H. whereas Tehran has been establishing and supporting terrorist proxies in the region for decades as part of an overall strategy to threaten Israel and its right to existence and to destabilise the region;

I. whereas on 7 October 2023, Hamas terrorists committed an attack on Israel, murdering 1 139 Israeli and foreign citizens; whereas Hamas took over 240 people hostage, of which 136 are still being held captive in the Gaza Strip; whereas Iran allegedly financed and supported Hamas in preparation for the 7 October attack against Israel;

J. whereas the rising tensions between Iran and Israel come against the backdrop of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, which began after Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and has led to a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, repeated attacks against civilians and humanitarian facilities and a catastrophic humanitarian situation, including the risk of imminent starvation of the population;

K. whereas the G7 leaders stressed the need to be united and called for coordinated sanctions against Iran; whereas the US has already announced new sanctions on Iran; whereas the US administration has notably imposed new sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programmes;

L. whereas the EU already has a full set of sanctions in place against the Iranian regime, including trade restrictions, travel bans and asset freezes; whereas the European Council and EU Foreign Affairs Ministers have requested that VP/HR Borrell start the preparatory work for the expansion of the EU sanctions framework, notably the existing Iran/Russia drone-related sanctions regime, and for the regional framework to include deliveries from Iran to proxies in the Middle East and Russia;

M. whereas some EU Foreign Affairs Ministers made a request to the VP/HR for sanctions against the IRGC during the informal Foreign Affairs Council meeting of 16 April 2024;

N. whereas the ambassadors of Iran were summoned in various EU capitals following the unprecedented Iranian attacks;

O. whereas Iran has heavily supplied Yemen’s Houthi militia, which is backed by Iran, with arms to destabilise both Yemen and commercial shipping off the coast of Yemen; whereas a Japanese-registered vessel, Galaxy Leader, with two Romanians and one Bulgarian on board and a Portuguese-flagged container ship, the MSC Aries, with an Estonian crew on board were seized by Iran’s IRGC on 19 November 2023 and 13 April 2024 respectively for ‘violating maritime laws’ in the Strait of Hormuz; whereas Iran’s Foreign Ministry indicated that there was no doubt that the Portuguese vessel was linked to Israel; whereas Iranian authorities have threatened to close the crucial shipping route; whereas the EU launched the EUNAVFOR ASPIDES naval operation to safeguard the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea;

P. whereas Israeli forces and Lebanon’s armed group, Hezbollah, have been trading fire since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, representing the most intense hostilities between the two groups since their major war in 2006;

Q. whereas Iran has provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and drones, deepening their military cooperation; whereas at least four shipments of missiles were transferred via the Caspian Sea and by plane to Russia; whereas the UN Security Council restrictions on Iran’s export of some missiles, drones and other technologies expired in October 2023; whereas the US and the EU have retained sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile programme; whereas these ballistic missiles would pose a serious threat to Ukraine and give Russia a greater advantage;

R. whereas since 2006, the UN Security Council has adopted a number of resolutions requiring Iran to stop enriching uranium for nuclear proliferation purposes, as well as restrictive measures to persuade Iran to comply; whereas the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2231(2015) on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), agreed by Iran and the ‘E3/EU+3’; whereas the deal has been in jeopardy since former US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from it in 2018; whereas Tehran warned Israel that it could review its nuclear doctrine following speculation that Israel would target Iran’s nuclear facilities;

1. Condemns, in the strongest terms, the Iranian attacks on Israel; considers these attacks an unprecedented escalation and a threat to regional security; reiterates its full solidarity with the people of Israel and its commitment to Israel’s security and regional stability; welcomes, in this respect, the European Council conclusions of 17 April 2024; deplores the fact that a young Arab girl was severely injured in the Iranian attacks; underlines that Iran’s attacks targeted empty warehouses and roads around Israel’s Nevatim airbase; highlights that Iran warned the US of its attacks well in advance, and provided enough time for the Israeli and other regional air defence systems to intercept 99 % of the drones and missiles, in an attempt to send a limited response to Israel’s bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus on 1 April 2024;

2. Condemns the Israeli attack against the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which infringed international law and the Vienna Convention, and led to Iran’s disproportionate response to Israel;

3. Condemns equally in the strongest terms Israel’s retaliatory actions of 19 April 2024 targeting the Shekari army airbase in the north-west of the Isfahan province in response to the Iranian attack on Israel of 13 April 2024; welcomes the reports that Iran has no immediate plans to respond to Israel’s attack; warns that a further escalation by Israel would benefit Iran’s interests in the region in the context of Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip; recalls, in this respect, that Iran had indicated, immediately after the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, that it would not retaliate if Israel were to accept a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip;

4. Urges Israel and Iran to prevent any further escalation of the conflict and any worsening of the security situation and regional stability; urges both parties to put an immediate end to their tit-for-tat strategy and calls on all parties involved to cease their attacks and exercise the utmost restraint to prevent fuelling further tensions and increasing any escalation of the conflict in the region;

5. Recalls that Israel and Iran have the right to defend themselves within the limits of international law; supports the position of the UN experts of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, stressing that retaliatory military attacks between Israel and Iran violate the right to life and must therefore cease immediately; notes that the UN experts further qualify both the Israeli and Iranian strikes as possibly constituting an international crime of aggression by the civilian and military leaders responsible;

6. Welcomes the EU’s commitment to contribute to the de-escalation and security of the region; calls, therefore, on the VP/HR and the 27 EU Foreign Affairs Ministers to engage, as a matter of urgency, with key partners and influential regional and global actors in de-escalation efforts; takes note of the decision by some Member States to suspend their arms exports to Israel in the context of its military operation in the Gaza Strip, in compliance with Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP on the control of exports of military technology and equipment; encourages all Member States to comply with Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP; underlines that this should not affect Israel’s ability to defend itself, notably its air defence capabilities, against attacks by state and non-state actors;

7. Calls on the US to maintain pressure on Israel to show restraint and avoid a regional conflagration; is nevertheless concerned about reports indicating that the US agreed to Israel’s Rafah operation plan in return for Israel’s limited response on 19 April 2024; calls, furthermore, on the Russian and Chinese authorities to exert their full influence over Iran and its allies to ensure they play their part in the de-escalation efforts of the international community;

8. Condemns the destabilising role of Iran in the region and globally in recent decades; acknowledges that the current crisis is the culmination of decades of tensions between Iran and Israel; notes, with great concern, that close allies of Iran are present in Israel’s immediate neighbouring countries and are increasingly involved in the wary actions threatening Israel and the stability of the region;

9. Reiterates its call for any de-escalation measures to diffuse the current tensions along the Israeli-Lebanese border; underlines the importance of applying UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) of 11 August 2006; expresses support for the work of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) along the Lebanese-Israeli border; condemns the Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on 17 April 2024, in which three people were killed including a Hezbollah field commander, and the launch of missiles and drones by Hezbollah at a military facility in northern Israel that left 14 soldiers wounded; urgently calls on both parties to show restraint and cease hostilities so as not to further escalate tensions;

10. Welcomes the EU’s commitment to implement further restrictive measures and sanctions against Iran, notably related to the unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles; calls on the EU Member States to swiftly expand the existing restrictive measures in order to respond adequately to the current crisis and risks; urges the EU Member States to also consider enforcing a set of comprehensive and innovative sanctions, notably including a cessation of global oil exports by Iran; acknowledges, in this regard, the US House of Representatives’ recently adopted legislation aimed at countering China’s purchase of Iranian crude oil;

11. Condemns the Iranian supply of ballistic missiles and drones to Russia; urges the EU Member States to take measures to prevent the reciprocal transfer of weapons by Russia to Iran, such as fighter jets, attack helicopters and pilot training aircraft; calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately stop arms trading and providing supplies to its affiliated proxies in the region; calls on the EU Member States to take any appropriate measures in this respect;

12. Reiterates its unwavering call on the Council to designate the IRGC a terrorist organisation and to impose further EU sanctions on officials and entities, including the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the President Ebrahim Raisi and Prosecutor-General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri; takes notes of the VP/HR’s commitment to task the legal service of the European External Action Service with re-evaluating the legal grounds for this designation; welcomes the stance of some Member States advocating for the IRGC’s designation as a terrorist organisation; urges the EU Member States to take legal action against the IRGC at national level;

13. Condemns the Iranian-backed Houthi attacks on commercial shipping off the coast of Yemen; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the crew of the Japanese-registered vessel, Galaxy Leader, including two Bulgarians and one Romanian, and the crew of the seized Portuguese-flagged container ship, the MSC Aries, including Estonian nationals; calls on the Commission and the Member States to intensify their efforts and enhance collaborative endeavours, including by deploying all available diplomatic channels and engaging with international partners and relevant stakeholders, to expedite the prompt and secure liberation and ensure the safe return of the captured European citizens to their respective countries without further delay;

14. Welcomes the decision by the Member States on the launch of the EUNAVFOR ASPIDES naval operation to safeguard the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, in close cooperation with regional actors and international partners; further welcomes the US-led ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’ to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea and freedom of navigation, which must be ensured at all times;

15. Is firmly convinced that there will be no regional stability nor any possibility to build enduring peace in the region if the war in the Gaza Strip continues and, more fundamentally, if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not resolved; reiterates its calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and for all parties to immediately and unconditionally release all hostages;

16. Reiterates its unwavering support for a negotiated two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 lines with two sovereign, democratic states living side by side in peace and guaranteed security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states, and in full respect of international law; emphasises, therefore, the absolute necessity of immediately relaunching the peace process; welcomes, in this respect, the Peace Day Effort for Middle East Peace launched just before the attacks by the EU and Arab partners;

17. Calls on Israel to respect the provisions of international humanitarian law and to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2712 (2023) demanding the use of ‘all available routes to and throughout the entire Gaza Strip’ to facilitate the delivery of aid; takes note of the positive steps taken by Israel in the delivery of humanitarian aid; urges Israel nevertheless to further ramp up the humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip;

18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, the Knesset and the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Supreme Leader and the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Members of Iran’s Majles.