EU urges 'restraint' as Erdogan sees war devastating

BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 15 (AFP): The European Union on Saturday voiced "deepest concern" at the escalation of conflict between Iran and Israel, calling for restraint to avoid dangers such as a leak of radioactive material.
Their statement came as Israel targeted Iran's air defence capabilities Saturday, following the deadly strikes it began a day earlier on Iranian nuclear and military facilities, prompting counterattacks by Iran.
It called "on all sides to abide by international law, show restraint and refrain from taking further steps which could lead to serious consequences such as potential radioactive release".
Issued by the office of Kaja Kallas, the bloc's foreign policy chief, it expressed "deepest concern at the dangerous escalation that threatens to destabilise the Middle East following Israeli strikes on Iran and Iran's response".
It called "on all sides to abide by international law, show restraint and refrain from taking further steps which could lead to serious consequences such as potential radioactive release".
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned against a "devastating war" between Israel and Iran that could trigger a refugee crisis, in a series of calls to regional leaders, his office said.
Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that Israel was seeking "to drag the whole region into the fire", according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.
To Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Erdogan said: "Our region cannot tolerate another crisis, and a devastating war could create waves of irregular migration towards all the countries in the region."
Turkey already hosts millions of Syrians, who fled their civil war, as well as Iranians seeking lives away from their country's authoritarian rulers. The influx has created political tensions in Turkey.
Erdogan told Saudi Arabia's prince that Israel needed "to be stopped", calling it "the main threat to stability and security in the region", the statement from his office said.
The issue of Iran's nuclear programme "can only be resolved through negotiations", he added.
"The fact that the international community has closed its eyes to the occupation and genocide in Palestine has led Israel to this level of flouting the law and its aggression," Erdogan was quoted as saying.
Erdogan also spoke with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he also spoke with Erdogan, and the two agreed that "Israel's unprovoked aggression against Iran" was "a blatant violation of international law and a threat to regional peace".
Britain is deploying fighter jets and other "assets" to the Middle East amid an escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday.
"We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support," Starmer told reporters travelling with him on his plane to Canada for G7 talks.