The Group of Seven (G7) leaders have condemned Iran’s massive, unprecedented early-morning attack Sunday on the State of Israel, and say they’re determined to prevent the conflict from spiraling out of control into a regional escalation.
The intergovernmental political and economic forum is comprised of the top seven major IMF advanced economies, which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the European Union (EU) as a “non-enumerated member”.
The body met Sunday afternoon in an urgent effort to find a way to persuade Israel not to launch a military response to Iran’s massive attack, but rather to allow its members to come up with a diplomatic formula instead.
“We, the Leaders of the G7, unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms Iran’s direct and unprecedented attack against Israel. Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel. Israel, with the help of its partners, defeated the attack,” the G7 said in a statement issued Sunday by the White House following the meeting.
“We express our full solidarity and support to Israel and its people and reaffirm our commitment towards its security.
“With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation. This must be avoided.
“We will continue to work to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.
“We will also strengthen our cooperation to end the crisis in Gaza, including by continuing to work towards an immediate and sustainable ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas, and deliver increased humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need,” the statement added.
Israel is demanding that the United Nations Security Council immediately designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — which launched the attack — as a terrorist organization.
The Security Council was set to meet Sunday at 4 pm ET to discuss the matter.
