German FM calls for 'maximum restraint' in call with Iranian counterpart
German FM calls for 'maximum restraint' in call with Iranian counterpart.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke with her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian about the "tense situation" in the Middle East, the German Foreign Ministry wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Tensions have escalated in the region after Iran blamed Israel for an attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria earlier on April 2.
The US military believes Israel was behind the attack and has vowed backing for Israel in the face of Iranian threats, as Iran has vowed to retaliate. Israeli officials did not make any comment on the attack. Israel rarely acknowledges strikes on Iranian targets.
"Avoiding further regional escalation must be in everyone's interest. We urge all actors in the region to act responsibly and exercise maximum restraint," Germany's Foreign Ministry said.
"No one should be allowed to throw more fuel onto the fire. No one can have any interest in a conflagration with completely unforeseeable consequences," Baerbock said later during a meeting with Chilean Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren in Berlin.
"All the actors in the region are urged to act responsibly and to exercise restraint," Baerbock said, adding that this was the message
she had conveyed to Amirabdollahian.
German airline Lufthansa also said its flights to and from Tehran will remain suspended through Saturday "due to the current situation in the Middle East."
Lufthansa, which usually has five flights per week from Frankfurt to Tehran, initially suspended flights until Thursday.
