G7 asks Israel and Iran to avoid escalation; threatens new sanctions on Tehran

The foreign ministers of the G7, the group of the richest democracies in the world, today called Israel and Iran to “avoid escalation” and threatened Tehran with new sanctions, at the end of their meeting on the Italian island of Capri.

“We have condemned the recent Iran attack on Israel. The G7 supports Israel’s security, but we invite all parties to work to avoid escalation”, the host minister, Antonio Tajani, summarized in the final press conference of the summit.

He G7 -Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom- has summoned the Ayatollah regime to “end your relationship“with the Palestinian militia of Hamas or the Lebanese Hezbollah and does not exclude new ones”sanctions and other measures” in case of “other destabilizing actions”.

At the summit, organized by the Italian presidency, two final documents were approved, one on the growing tension in the Middle East and another on the defense of Ukraine from the Russian invasion, which began in February 2022.

The end of the meeting was preceded, during the night, by the presumably Israeli response to Iran’s missile launch a week ago, in response to the attack on its consulate in Damascus and with the war in the Gaza Strip as a backdrop .

Tajani claimed “the commitment of the G7 in favor“ceasefire”immediate and sustainable” in the Palestinian enclave to obtain the release of the hostages still in the hands of the Hamas Islamists after the attack on October 7, which sparked the conflict.

Also, the G7in which the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, participated, insisted on his rejection of a military offensive in the Gazan town of Rafah.

“Our objective continues to be to have two States for two peoples”, summarized the Italian minister.

In the case of Ukraine, which is experiencing a shortage of ammunition and demands anti-aircraft defenses from its allies such as the ‘Patriots’, Tajani promised that his country, as leader of the G7, “will do everything possible for air protection” of the invaded country: “We’ll see what can be done”, he added.

In the final document, the bloc expressed its “determination, in particular, to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capabilities to save lives and protect critical infrastructure” and expressed their approval with the Immediate Air Defense Action Initiative proposed by Germany.

The meeting included the participation of the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmitro Kuleba, who urged his partners to provide Kiev with new aid, as well as thanked the United States for processing a new package of US$61 billion.