German FM Urges Iranian Restraint In Call With FM

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for de-escalation in the region amid an Iran-led proxy war, in a call with his Iranian counterpart.

“No one can have an interest in a wider regional escalation. We urge all actors in the region to act responsibly and exercise maximum restraint,” German Foreign Ministry wrote on X following the phone call with Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday.

Tensions have risen between Iran and Israel, two archenemies, since Israel’s deadly April 1 strike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus and subsequently, Tehran’s daily threats to retaliate. Two IRGC commanders were killed along with other key personnel.

On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and UAE contacted their Iranian counterpart in an attempt to persuade Tehran to avoid further tensions with Israel.

The mediation of the four Arab countries was conducted at the request of Brett McGurk, the White House Middle East envoy.

Meanwhile, Russia warned all sides against wider tensions in the region.

"Right now it's very important for everyone to maintain restraint so as not to lead to a complete destabilization of the situation in the region, which doesn't exactly shine with stability and predictability," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stressed.

Earlier in the day, Russia told its citizens not to travel to the Middle East amid rising tensions.

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that a major missile or drone attack by Iran or its proxies on Israel seems imminent in the coming days.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country is ready for all scenarios in the region: "Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively.”