Condemnation and calls for restraint following US attack on Iran
Belgian Foreign minister Maxime Prévot has called for restraint to prevent further escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict following the overnight attacks by the US on Iranian nuclear sites. “I again call for maximum restraint and a return to the negotiating table,” he posted on X.
The US carried out precision strikes on three sites in Iran last night. Since Israel launched an attack on Iran on 13 June, Tel Aviv and Tehran have been bombarding each other with airstrikes.
Prévot responded on Sunday, without mentioning the US attacks. He does believe, however, that “the theocratic regime of the mullahs of Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, as it would be a threat to international security”.
He added that Belgium advocates a diplomatic solution, to ensure in the long run that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons.
The leader of francophone socialists PS, Paul Magnette, did explicitly condemn US interference. The attacks “are part of a dangerous spiral of escalating conflict”, he said on X. “To condemn those actions is to defend international law and peace, the only possible path for the world.”
Magnette also called on the EU to act, saying: “Europe must break the silence. We do not defend peace by fanning the flames of war.”
EU Foreign ministers are due to meet in Brussels on Monday, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will convene the Security Council on Wednesday. The escalating situation in the Middle East and its implications for Europe are on the agenda.
"Europe must break the silence. We do not defend peace by fanning the flames of war"
US vice president JD Vance hopes there will be room for negotiations after the US attack. “We're not at war with Iran. We're at war with Iran’s nuclear programme,” he told US broadcaster ABC.
“We don’t want a war with Iran. We actually want peace,” he said, adding that the Iranian nuclear programme had suffered “significant delays” of “years or more” following the US attack.
'Self-defence'
However, Iranian Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi sees little margin for diplomacy, he told a press conference in Istanbul on Sunday.
The door should always remain open for diplomacy, “but that is not the case now”. Iran must respond because it has a “legitimate right to self-defence”, he said, adding that Tehran was still assessing the impact of the attacks on the Natanz, Isfahan and Fordo sites.
Meanwhile, more than 100 Belgians are currently in Iran, Prévot told RTBF and RTL-TVi. Belgian diplomats are contacting as many as possible, he said. The majority have dual Iranian-Belgian citizenship.
Shi'ite Muslims hold portraits of Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to condemn US and Israeli attacks on Iran, Karachi, 22 June 2025 © PHOTO ASIF HASSAN / AFP
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