Attack on Israel

Nehammer warns of conflagration in the Middle East

Austrian Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

(Bild: BUNDESKANZLERAMT/DRAGAN TATIC)

Like many other politicians, Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) fears a conflagration in the Middle East following the major Iranian attack on Israel. For the Federal Chancellor, the attacks by the Mullah regime represent "a new dimension in the spiral of violence", which is why he called on Tuesday in Parliament to "maintain rationality".

Nehammer welcomed the fact that the EU summit on Wednesday and Thursday would deal with the issue. He also expressed his willingness to further tighten sanctions against Iran.

Nehammer assures "full solidarity" with Israel
The EU has clearly expressed its support for Israel and is committed to ensuring that there is no further escalation. Nehammer also assured Israel of Austria's "full solidarity".

The EU foreign ministers will discuss the sanctions against Iran on Tuesday evening, Nehammer continued. "It is clear that Iran's attack is completely irresponsible", said the Chancellor. The region was thus "one step closer to the abyss". The Iranian ambassador had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) had also spoken to his Iranian counterpart on the phone.

Situation also threatening for Austria
The threat situation has increased significantly following the Iran attack. The question now is how to de-escalate the situation. The situation is also threatening for Austria in several respects. Firstly, an escalation could lead to the destabilization of the EU's external borders, and secondly, an Austrian-Israeli hostage is still being held by the terrorist organization Hamas.

Numerous topics at the EU summit
The summit will also deal with the topics of competitiveness, EU-Turkey relations and Ukraine. The Chancellor spoke out in favor of a pan-European industrial policy for the EU. The aim was to promote independence from fossil fuels and to pursue a European location policy. Nehammer called for a reduction in reporting obligations as a contribution to reducing EU bureaucracy, including for agriculture.

With regard to Ukraine, Nehammer said that Austria supported the planned peace conference in Switzerland. With regard to Russia, it was important to further limit the possibilities of circumventing sanctions.