CAIRO, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Countries in the Middle East have voiced their concern over military escalation in the region after Israel on Friday allegedly struck sites near the city of Isfahan, central Iran, in what appeared to be its military response to Iran's recent attack.
In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry called on the two sides to exercise the utmost restraint and to fully comply with the rules of international laws and the UN Charter, warning against widening the conflict and instability in the region.
Egypt stressed that it will continue to intensify communications with all concerned and influential parties to contain the ongoing escalation and tension.
In addition, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the ministry "is constantly monitoring the tension in the region," expressing its deep concern about the attack targeting Isfahan this morning.
The ministry said that the escalation must not distract attention from the destruction and loss of innocent lives in the Gaza Strip, renewing its call on the international community to perform its duties and work to stop the suffering of the Palestinian people, according to the statement.
Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi on Friday stressed the need to reduce the dangerous escalation in the region and reiterated that "Jordan will not allow it to be turned into an arena of conflict between Iran and Israel, and to endanger its security and the safety of its citizen."
Safadi, who also serves as the Jordanian foreign minister, added on social media platform X that, "the current escalation only serves to divert attention away from the Israeli aggression on Gaza, stopping which must be the priority."
The Israeli attack came after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed Saturday that it had launched missile and drone attacks on Israel in retaliation for earlier airstrikes by Israel on April 1 on the Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed seven Iranians.
So far, Israel has not officially acknowledged the strikes on Isfahan, while Iran has not publicly accused Israel of carrying out them.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the Israeli strikes on Syrian military sites earlier in the day as a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty and a threat to regional stability.
In a statement, the ministry warned that such actions could escalate tensions in the region, potentially leading to a broader conflict, and urged the international community, including the UN Security Council, to condemn the attack and take decisive measures to halt the "crimes" committed by Israel.
In the early hours of Friday, the Israeli military launched a series of airstrikes targeting Syrian air defense sites in the southern region, according to the Syrian Defense Ministry. The strikes caused material losses, while no casualties were reported, it added.
The attack was also confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, with it reporting that more than six Israeli aircraft were observed flying intensively in southern Syria.
The radar battalion responsible for monitoring the airspace, located in the east of Syria's Daraa province, was targeted, the war monitor added. ■
