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

B90252/2024

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

(2024/2704(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran,

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

– having regard to the statement by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the EU of 14 April 2024 on Iran,

– having regard to the G7 Leaders’ statement of 14 April 2024 on Iran’s attack against Israel,

– having regard to the UN Secretary-General’s statement of 13 April 2024 regarding attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran targeting Israel,

– having regard to the joint statement by the permanent representatives of 48 countries to the UN of 17 April 2024 on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s attack on the State of Israel,

– having regard to the EU statement to the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of 12 September 2023 on verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015),

– having regard to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1970,

– having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) of 11 August 2006 on the situation in the Middle East,

– having regard to the Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2428 of 12 December 2022 implementing Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Iran, Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/584 of 12 April 2021 implementing Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Iran and Council Implementing Decision (CFSP) 2021/585 of 12 April 2021 implementing Decision 2011/235/CFSP concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Iran,

– having regard to Council Decision (CFSP) 2023/1532 of 20 July 2023 concerning restrictive measures in view of Iran’s military support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,

– having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2020/1998 of 7 December 2020 concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses and Council Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999 of 7 December 2020 concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses, which established the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EU Magnitsky Act),

– having regard to the UN Charter,

– having regard to the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the UN Charter of 1970,

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

– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966,

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

A. whereas on 14 April 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack against Israel; whereas according to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), Iran’s attack included 180 explosive drones, 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles; whereas preceding and during the attack, Hezbollah also launched rockets at Israel; whereas Iran’s attack violated the airspace of several regional countries, in particular Jordan and Iraq, thereby severely putting at risk the lives of people in those countries; whereas the Royal Jordanian Air Force intercepted many Iranian drones that violated its airspace;

B. whereas four ballistic missiles and none of the cruise missiles or drones reached Israeli territory, accounting for a 99 % interception rate and demonstrating the effective cooperation among Israel, the US, the UK, France and Jordan; whereas nine Israeli civilians sustained injuries from shrapnel from Iranian missile during Iran’s attack, including a seven-year-old Bedouin girl in Israel’s Negev desert who sustained life-threatening injuries; whereas Israel’s southern Nevatim air base suffered minor damage to its infrastructure, according to the IDF;

C. whereas the attack came in retaliation for a strike on 1 April 2024 that had targeted Iran’s consulate on its embassy’s compound in Syria; whereas Iran blames Israel for the strike; whereas the strike killed several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members, including senior Quds Force Commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who was reportedly involved in the planning and execution of Hamas’ deadly attack of 7 October 2023 against Israel;

D. whereas the US is incredibly concerned about the military cooperation between Iran and North Korea, in particular on nuclear and ballistic missiles; whereas there are also legitimate concerns regarding Iran’s military cooperation with Russia and Pakistan, and its enhanced cooperation with China on military technology; whereas the UN Security Council has reported on the exchange of long-range missile technologies and weaponry between North Korea and Iran, which have also been delivered to Iran’s proxies in the Middle East; whereas North Korea has supplied Iran with critical missile components, enabling the development of ballistic missiles that are capable of striking targets much further away, in effect, helping Iran turn into a missile powerhouse;

E. whereas Iran has developed and provided Russia with attack drones and surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and continues to strengthen its military cooperation with Russia, in particular since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine;

F. whereas Iran’s unprecedented escalatory attack against Israel is part of the latest pattern of dangerous and destabilising actions by Iran and its proxies, which poses a grave threat to international and regional peace and security; whereas Iran denies Israel’s right to exist and seeks its eradication; whereas the IRGC continues to encircle Israel and channel advanced weapons to terrorist proxies that attack Israel, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, militias in Iraq and Syria and EU-listed terrorist groups in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; whereas Iran also continues to sponsor and coordinate attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world, including the recent explosion near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, India;

G. whereas relations between the IRGC and its regional network have become increasingly apparent since 7 October 2023, when Hamas, other Palestinian terrorist groups and civilians savagely murdered 1 200 Israelis, including EU, US and other nationals, and kidnapped 253 people, 129 of whom remain captive, along with four others who have been held for nearly a decade; whereas Israel believes that at least 36 Israeli hostages are no longer alive; whereas reports have indicated that Iran sponsored the 7 October massacre; whereas the IRGC declared that Hamas’ attack on 7 October was a response to the assassination of Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, which took place nearly three years prior in Iraq;

H. whereas Hezbollah has continued to escalate the conflict on Israel’s northern border since 7 October, in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006); whereas since 7 October, around 60 000 Israelis and 30 000 Lebanese who lived along the Israeli-Lebanese border have been displaced; whereas Hezbollah has named 278 members who have been killed by Israel since the start of the conflict, mostly in Lebanon with some in Syria; whereas Hezbollah’s daily rocket fire on Israel has killed tens of Israeli soldiers and civilians, as well as one foreign national, and wounded many others; whereas in Lebanon, at least 54 members of terror organisations, a Lebanese soldier and 60 civilians have been killed;

I. whereas on 13 April 2024, the EU and 48 countries at the UN, including all EU Member States, unequivocally condemned the attack by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies on the State of Israel; whereas they also condemned the seizure of the Portuguese flagged MSC Aries, which was seized by IRGC commandos and called on Iran to release its international crew immediately;

J. whereas in recent months, the Houthis, an Iran-backed proxy, have attacked over 100 vessels in the Red Sea, an area through which around 15 % of global maritime trade volume passes; whereas the Houthis hijacked the Galaxy Leader cargo ship on 19 November 2023 in the Red Sea, taking the ship’s crew of 17 Filipinos, 2 Bulgarians, 3 Ukrainians, 2 Mexicans and 1 Romanian hostage;

K. whereas in response to the growing threat against maritime security in the Red Sea, the EU launched its Naval Force Operation ASPIDES in February 2024 to protect vessels and seafarers in the Red Sea against ongoing attacks, in cooperation with partners; whereas the US set up the multinational coalition Operation Prosperity Guardian to safeguard Red Sea shipping and, together with allies, is seeking to disrupt and degrade the Houthi’s capabilities in Yemen to attack international vessels lawfully transiting the Red Sea;

L. whereas Iran routinely uses hostage diplomacy as a foreign policy tool, including in the cases of Dr Ahmedreza Djalali and Johan Floderus; whereas Dr Djalali, a Swedish citizen, has been sentenced to death in Iran on false charges of espionage and faces imminent execution; whereas Johan Floderus, an EU official and also a Swedish citizen, was arbitrarily detained in Tehran in 2022 and remains imprisoned in Iran under inhumane conditions;

M. whereas the overall human rights situation in Iran is increasingly deteriorating; whereas the murders of Mahsa Amini, Armita Garawand and other women, as well as the mass executions carried out by the government, illustrate the human rights crisis in Iran; whereas members of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran face arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and persecution; whereas being Muslim is a requirement for most government jobs;

N. whereas Iran reportedly executed over 800 people in 2023, the highest figure since 2015 and the highest per capita globally; whereas Iranian courts routinely fail to provide fair trials, accept confessions obtained under torture, refuse to allow medical care to prisoners and restrict detainees’ access to legal counsel; whereas Iran’s police and security forces perpetrate widespread torture, rape and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against detainees in prisons, often leading to their deaths;

O. whereas Iranian intelligence services carry out surveillance and intimidation, including assassinations, against the Iranian diaspora throughout Member States in a clear violation of the civil rights of EU citizens;

P. whereas according to reports, every year, between 400 and 500 women are brutally murdered in Iran in ‘honour killings’; whereas under the Iranian Criminal Code, ‘honour killings’ are permitted under certain circumstances without penalty; whereas women and men often receive no justice for crimes committed against them in the name of ‘honour’;

Q. whereas Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was elected in June 2021 in elections that were not free or fair, is on the United States sanction list for previously having served as chief of the Iranian judiciary, during which many grave human rights violations were committed;

R. whereas the US State Department has stated that Iran remains the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, providing political, financial, operational and logistical support to a variety of groups listed on both the EU terror list and the US list of foreign terrorist organisations; whereas on 15 April 2019, the US designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organisation;

S. whereas the VP/HR claims that the Council can only add the IRGC to the EU terrorist list if there is a court decision in a Member State; whereas the opinion of the Council’s Legal Service of 15 February 2023 on legal requirements for listing persons, groups and entities under Common Position 2001/931/CFSP on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism states in point 22 that the term ‘competent authority’ used in Article 1(4) of Common Position 2001/931/CFSP is not limited to the authorities of the EU Member States, but may, in principle, include the judicial or administrative authorities of non-EU states;

T. whereas for decades, the IRGC and Hezbollah have been active in planning terrorist attacks on European soil; whereas the 2012 Burgas bombing in Bulgaria, which killed five Israeli citizens and one Bulgarian national, led to the designation of Hezbollah’s so-called military wing as a terrorist organisation on the EU terrorist list;

U. whereas on10 December 2023, Cypriot and Israeli authorities foiled an attack against Israeli tourists and Jews in Cyprus that was planned and financed by Iran; whereas on 25 June 2023, Cypriot authorities thwarted a separate IRGC-planned terror attack against Jewish and Israeli tourists in Cyprus;

V. whereas on 20 June 2023, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency released its 2022 report, which noted that the IRGC continued to target the Jewish community, Israelis and Iranian dissidents in Germany, using all means necessary, including violence and even killings;

W. whereas on 28 March 2023, Greek police arrested several Pakistani men who were reportedly working for the IRGC and planning attacks on Jewish targets; whereas on 8 January 2023, two Iranian men were detained in Germany after being suspected of planning an attack on German soil with deadly chemicals under the directive of the IRGC, constituting a direct violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a potential act of state-sponsored terrorism against a Member State;

X. whereas on 15 January 2020, the IRGC shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board and for which grieving families have still not been compensated;

Y. whereas on 10 June 2018, French, Belgian and German authorities foiled a bomb attack against a dissident event in Paris attended by thousands of people; whereas a Belgian court sentenced Iranian diplomat Asadollah Asadi to 20 years in prison for his involvement in the plot; whereas on 26 May 2023, he was exchanged with Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who was unjustly jailed in Iran, in another instance of Iran’s reprehensible hostage diplomacy;

Z. whereas Iran not only uses proxies to strike targets in the Middle East and threaten regional security, but it has also directly attacked Pakistan and Iraqi Kurdistan with precision missiles and drones, killing and injuring many dozens of people;

AA. whereas on 27 September 2022, it was reported that the hacktivist group Anonymous had obtained documents from the National Bank of Iran that showed that the Islamic Republic had laundered huge sums of money through corrupt individuals in Europe;

AB. whereas negotiations on the renewal of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have still not been officially suspended; whereas Iran has consistently breached the terms of the JCPOA and has increased its production of highly enriched uranium; whereas the IAEA has also reiterated its call on Iran to provide the agency with ‘technically credible explanations’ for the presence of depleted uranium at the two undeclared nuclear facilities that remain under investigation;

1. Condemns the Islamic Republic of Iran’s attack against the State of Israel in the strongest possible terms; expresses full solidarity with the people of Israel and reiterates its commitment to Israel’s security and regional stability; reiterates Israel’s right to self-defence and calls on Iran to avert further escalation;

2. Expresses its deepest sympathy to all the Israelis injured in Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel, including its Bedouin community and the family of the seven-year-old girl who remains seriously injured; wishes her a full recovery;

3. Commends the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Jordan for intercepting Iranian missiles and drones and thereby limiting the damage from Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel; welcomes the cooperation among Israel, the US, France, the UK and other allies in protecting Israel from the Iranian attack, which proved to be highly effective; invites the democratic world to use this example in assisting victims of aggression to secure their skies, in particular Ukraine; welcomes, in this context, the US Congress’s adoption of the US aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan;

4. Welcomes the Council’s announcement that it intends to impose further restrictive measures on Iran, notably in relation to unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles; strongly encourages the Member States to significantly increase their financing and joint training efforts related to countering unmanned aerial vehicle programmes, as these capabilities are essential in deterring the growing Iranian-Russian cooperation in drone warfare;

5. Strongly condemns the many IRGC terrorist and assassination attacks and attempts across the world, including on European soil over the past few decades; reiterates its call on the Council to designate the IRGC, its subsidiary forces and Hezbollah’s so-called military wing as terrorist organisations;

6. Strongly condemns the IRGC’s takeover of the Portuguese flagged MSC Aries and the Galaxy Leader and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of their crews; stresses the importance of freedom of navigation at sea, as it is imperative for protecting vessels and seafarers against ongoing attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea; calls for the EU, US and other regional actors that favour regional stability to cooperate in this context; welcomes, in this regard, the role of the US-led naval Operation Prosperity Guardian and the EU’s Naval Force Operation ASPIDES off the coast of Yemen in protecting the freedom of navigation;

7. Deplores Iran’s use of hostage diplomacy; calls for the unconditional release of Johan Floderus, Ahmadreza Djalali, other EU nationals and all unlawfully detained human rights activists and prisoners of conscience in Iran; demands that the Iranian authorities ensure that the rights of prisoners and those arrested are protected at all times, including their ability to receive adequate medical care and full access to their families and lawyers of their own choice; reiterates its calls on Iran to grant requests for visits from representatives of international organisations;

8. Reiterates its strong condemnation of the steadily deteriorating human and women’s rights situation in Iran; calls for an end to discriminatory laws and clothing requirements for women in Iran, including the mandatory hijab;

9. Calls on the Iranian authorities to respect ethnic and religious minorities’ fundamental rights and freedoms and to allow them to exercise their full rights on an equal basis with all citizens;

10. Strongly condemns the fact that the criminal proceedings and the death penalty have been weaponised by the Iranian regime to stamp out dissent and to punish people for exercising their basic rights; stresses that the execution of protesters by the Islamic Republic of Iran amounts to state-sanctioned killing and calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately cease imposing the death penalty and move towards its abolition;

11. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all unlawfully detained human rights activists, journalists, other prisoners of conscience and all those at risk of execution in Iran; reiterates its support for the aspirations of the Iranian people who want to live in a free, inclusive and democratic country that respects its national and international commitments on human rights and fundamental freedoms;

12. Calls on the VP/HR and the Council to expand the EU sanctions list, including under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, to include all those responsible for human rights violations in Iran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Ebrahim Raisi and Prosecutor-General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri;

13. Calls on the Council and the VP/HR to revise their current Iran strategy and, in coordination with international partners, formulate a more apt strategy to counter Iran’s support for terrorism and military proliferation and to seek Iran’s diplomatic isolation; encourages relations with the Iranian democratic opposition to be strengthened;

14. Calls on the VP/HR to suspend all negotiations on the JCPOA in the light of Tehran’s hostile conduct in the region and globally; calls furthermore on the VP/HR and the European External Action Service to stress that any improvement in economic relations with Iran is conditional on Iran ceasing its serious human rights abuses; expresses grave concern about the IAEA’s reporting that Iran has continued to violate the JCPOA and safeguard agreements; strongly condemns Iran’s lack of cooperation and the fact that it has expanded and accelerated the development of its nuclear programme, thereby coming close to acquiring nuclear weapons-grade capabilities; stresses the need for and the importance of the IAEA and its work and calls on Iran to fully cooperate and provide the necessary responses to the IAEA’s requests; recalls the obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to block the Islamic Republic of Iran from acquiring military nuclear capabilities;

15. Denounces the fact that the Iranian regime is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iran, Syria, Yemen and Iraq; strongly condemns Iran’s supplying of drones to Russia for its illegal and unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine; stresses that Iran is contributing to war crimes in Ukraine, as these weapons are being used to target civilians and civilian infrastructure; strongly condemns Iran’s active role in the proliferation in the Middle East of Captagon, which is a crucial source of revenue for the Syrian regime and is smuggled by Iran-linked militias and traffickers from Lebanon and Türkiye to Arab countries in the region; supports an EU-coordinated security response to prevent the EU from being used as a trans-shipment zone or final destination for Captagon produced in Syria and Lebanon;

16. Expresses grave concern about the cooperation between Iran and North Korea on nuclear and ballistic missiles; calls on the Council and the VP/HR to follow all developments and initiate the appropriate sanctions to ensure the disruption of the exchanges between North Korea and Iran of long-range missile technologies and weaponry, including those delivered to Iran’s proxies in the Middle East and Russia;

17. Urges the full enforcement of existing sanctions and export controls against Iran to impede its nuclear programme, missile and drone development and funding of terrorist groups and proxies, in particular funding sources that are the most financially beneficial to the Islamic Republic, such as the oil trade with China;

18. Strongly condemns the continued launching of rockets by Hezbollah from southern Lebanon towards civilian areas in northern Israel; expresses deep concern at the continued lack of progress towards a permanent ceasefire and other key provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006), in view of the latest and continuing tensions along Lebanon’s southern border; expresses support for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s work along the Israeli-Lebanese border and stresses the need for the Lebanese armed forces to be deployed in southern Lebanon in order to prevent Blue Line violations and ensure the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s freedom of movement and access to the Blue Line;

19. Deplores the terrorism and war crimes committed by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups against Israel and against the Israeli and Palestinian people; calls for all Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip to be immediately and unconditionally released and for the International Committee of the Red Cross to be given immediate access to all Israeli hostages being held in the Gaza Strip so that it can provide them with medical care; supports the continuation of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip and stresses that it must reach those civilians in need; strongly condemns Hamas’ hijacking and looting of aid convoys; underlines that there can be no future role for Hamas or any other terrorist group in the Gaza Strip; reiterates that terrorism, incitement and violence are incompatible with the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;

20. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European External Action Service, 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 Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Members of the Iranian Majlis.