PRESS RELEASE : Joint Press Statement at the UN on the attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran on Israel [April 2024]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 April 2024.
Joint Press Statement by the Permanent Representatives of the United States, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
We unequivocally condemn the April 13 attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its militant partners on the State of Israel, which involved launching several hundred ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and attack drones against multiple targets, and note this large-scale attack could have caused significant damage and loss of life.
We further condemn the fact that the weapons launched at Israel violated the airspace of several regional states, putting at risk the lives of innocent people in those countries, and appeared to traverse airspace near holy sites in Jerusalem.
We welcome the efforts to avert a further immediate escalation of violence in the region, following the successful coordinated efforts to defend against Iran’s attack.
We condemn Iran’s unlawful seizure of a Portuguese-flagged commercial ship near the Strait of Hormuz on April 13 and call on Iran to release the ship and its international crew immediately.
We note that Iran’s escalatory attack is the latest in a pattern of dangerous and destabilizing actions by Iran and its militant partners that pose a grave threat to international peace and security.
We call on all regional parties to take steps to avert further escalation of the situation and demand that all Council resolutions be fully implemented. We will strengthen our diplomatic cooperation to work toward resolving all tensions in the region.
