By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged Iran and Israel to de-escalate hostilities after Tehran launched drone attacks on Tel Aviv on Saturday.
Iran accuses Israel of being behind the killing of 13 Iranians, including two generals, in an attack on its consulate in Syria on April 1.
Tehran, consequently, threatened to attack Israel as response to the April 1 fatal air strike.
Israel said on Sunday that Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles, but more than 99% of them were intercepted outside of Israel’s borders.
“We did warn at a very early stage that unless the challenges arising from the war between Israel and Palestine are handled with care, and with great wisdom – to ensure that there is a ceasefire and humanitarian assistance – the war would soon escalate beyond the borders of Israel, and it would engulf countries in the Middle East,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa addressed the media on the sidelines of his election campaign in Gauteng on Sunday.
“So, this (Iran-Israel tensions) is totally unhelpful, and it is something that should not be happening. We should not be having a regional conflict when we know what the origins of this conflict are. We, therefore, call on all parties to desist from escalating this conflict because it is a very dangerous conflict that could soon escalate even beyond the borders of the Middle East.”
Ramaphosa added that “As South Africa, we have warned about this, and we are once again saying that let all actors desist from escalating this type of violence. It should not happen, we should not lose lives unnecessarily.”
Meanwhile United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned “the serious escalation”.
“I strongly condemn the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran this evening,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote in a statement.
“I am deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation. I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East,” he added.
Several nations, including Turkiye and the United States, have urged restraint in resolving the conflict.
The EU has also strongly condemned the unacceptable Iranian attack against Israel, EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said in a post on X, “This is an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security.”