PUTRAJAYA – Malaysia, in its response to developments following Iran’s attack on Israel early Sunday (Malaysian time), strongly urges all parties in the Middle East region to refrain and exercise great caution not to escalate the already tense situation.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan in a statement Sunday urged the parties concerned to deescalate and create the necessary environment to end the conflict immediately.
“Malaysia reiterates that the main objective is to find peace and a permanent solution to the plight of the Palestinian people and not widen the conflict,” he said.
Anadolu Agency in its report quoted the Israeli army as saying that Iran attacked Israel with 290 missiles and drones, including 100 ballistic missiles.
Iran began an airborne attack Saturday against Israel in retaliation for an April 1 airstrike on its diplomatic facility in the Syrian capital. The strike killed at least seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two top generals.
Tehran has accused Israel of carrying out the attack and vowed to respond. Tel Aviv has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack but Iran and Hizbollah, its main ally in Lebanon, have said the attack will not go unpunished.
Elaborating on the development, Mohamad said the attacks by Iran is a response to the illegal bombing by Israel on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1. Iran posits that its actions are an act of self-defence and is provided for in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations (UN) Charter.
Once the attacks had ended, Iran through its Permanent Mission at the UN announced it considers its actions against Israel justifiable and “can be deemed concluded”.
However, Iran asserts that should the Israeli regime or its allies were to “make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe”, thus creating a never-ending cycle of violence, he said.
According to Mohamad any further form of provocation and/or retaliation could ignite a devastating region-wide conflict that will not serve the region nor the Palestinian cause.
The international community is also reminded not to lose sight of the objective of ensuring the freedom of the Palestinians and their rights to their own lands, said.
“Any distraction from this objective is what Israel wants, which is to deflect the global community’s attention from their nefarious inhumane and unconscionable acts in Palestine,” Mohamad added.
He said Malaysia further echoes the call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for an immediate cessation and end to hostilities.
Any form of attack, offensive or defensive, will have consequences that – if it spirals out of control – will ultimately lead to the death of many more innocent lives, added Mohamad. – April 14, 2024