by Billion Temesghen
BRUSSELS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- European leaders and United Nations officials have voiced growing alarm over a potential wider regional confrontation after U.S. President Donald Trump set an 8 p.m. Eastern Time deadline on Tuesday for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning to annihilate a "whole civilization" if no deal can be reached.
European Commission foreign affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper reiterated that the bloc rejects "any threats to attacks regarding critical civilian infrastructure" and urged "maximum restraint" and respect for international law. "We have always said that diplomacy is the answer."
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store also stressed the need for a diplomatic solution, warning that "you will not get ships out of the Strait of Hormuz by pursuing a military track," and describing the situation as "worrying."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrow voiced opposition to any strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure, warning that such attacks would trigger "a new phase of escalation and reprisals."
Italy likewise emphasized the need to safeguard civilian infrastructure in Iran. In a note on the Middle East crisis, the government said it was monitoring risks of escalation affecting "the entire Iranian territory, without distinction between strategic, military and civilian targets."
At the United Nations, High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned Trump's rhetoric threatening to annihilate "a whole civilization," calling it "sickening" and warning that carrying out such threats would amount to "the most serious international crimes."
He said threats that spread fear and terror among civilians are unacceptable and must cease immediately, adding that deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure constitutes "a war crime."
Earlier in the day, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said there is "no military objective that justifies the wholesale destruction of a society's infrastructure or the deliberate infliction of suffering on civilian populations," urging dialogue and warning that deliberate attacks on civilians amount to war crimes.
The conflict, triggered by joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, has entered its sixth week, sending shockwaves through global energy markets, disrupting regional transport, and raising fears of a broader multi-front confrontation across the Middle East.
As Washington's rhetoric and military pressure intensified, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that if civilian targets are attacked, its response "will go beyond the region," underscoring escalation risks in an already volatile crisis.
Nearly an hour before his deadline on Tuesday evening, Trump posted on his social media site that he agreed to suspend the bombing and attacks on Iran for two weeks. The White House later said Israel also agreed to the ceasefire. Iran followed with a statement saying it has forced Washington to accept its 10-point plan, with negotiations to be resumed on Friday in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.
Against the accelerating tension, divisions are also exposed on U.S. soil. By Tuesday, about 20 Democratic lawmakers had called for invoking the Constitution's 25th Amendment to assess the president's fitness for office, reflecting deepening political tensions in Washington as the Iran conflict widened. Enditem.
