Europe joins US in urging restraint by Israel after Iran's attack

Israel's European allies urged it on Monday to show restraint over Iran's weekend missile and drone attack, calling on Israeli leaders to step away from "the edge of the cliff" of escalation in the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, which is empowered to decide on the country's response, was set to convene on Monday afternoon, a government source said.

Israeli officials said the war cabinet, which also met on Sunday, favored retaliation but was divided over the timing and scale of any such response.

With the danger of open warfare erupting between Israel and Iran, and tension high over the war in Gaza, President Joe Biden has told Netanyahu the United States will not participate in any Israeli counter-offensive against Iran, US officials said.

Britain, France, Germany, and the European Union's foreign policy chief all joined Washington and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in calling for restraint.

"We're on the edge of the cliff and we have to move away from it," Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told Spanish radio station Onda Cero. "We have to step on the brakes and reverse gear."

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Israel to set its sights on isolating Iran rather than escalating the situation. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Iran not to carry out more attacks and said Israel must also contribute to de-escalation.

Russia has refrained from criticizing its ally Iran in public over the strikes but expressed concern about the risk of escalation on Monday and also called for restraint.

"Further escalation is in no one's interests," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Reuters