The Government has called on all parties to “de-escalate” the Iran conflict, but did not criticise or condemn the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by the US.
Neither Taoiseach Micheál Martin nor Tánaiste Simon Harris condemned the bombing of Iran by the US in their respective comments on Sunday.
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Mr Martin did not refer to the bombing in his statement, but called on all parties to work to “de-escalate the conflict” between Iran and Israel.
“Diplomacy and dialogue are ultimately the only ways to resolve the issues and bring peace and security to the region,” he said.
“Iran should commit unequivocally to not developing nuclear weapons and disavow its uranium enrichment programme.
“Nuclear safety is an issue here, modern warfare is very destructive. It is civilians who ultimately suffer, and that is why we need an end to these wars and bring an end to conflict.”
Mr Martin said the escalation on Sunday should not draw attention away from the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
“We shouldn’t lose sight of the catastrophe that is still unfolding in Gaza while the war between Iran and Israel continues,” he said.
“What is happening in Gaza is appalling and a breach of international humanitarian law, and again, innocent civilians and children are being starved there, and we need that to come to an end.”
Mr Harris also spoke by phone on Sunday afternoon with Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi about the US bombing of Iran.
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The call took place following a request from Iran’s government.
The Tánaiste said he got no indication from the Iranian minister that it would change its stance on refusing to return to negotiations.
“Being very honest, during the call I was met with an Iranian counterpart [who was] full of anger, and talking, in his words, about the aggressor.
“I made the point that he was talking to a representative of a European country that hasn’t in any way been an aggressor, and in fact, that the European Union has been consistent in our approach and united in our approach across 27 member states that we need to see de-escalation, diplomacy and dialogue.”
He said he had not got any indication as of now that the position of Iran has changed. “That’s not a reason enough to keep engaging the talks shortly,” he added.
A group of 15 Irish citizens and their dependents have been safely evacuated from Israel, Mr Harris confirmed.
The operation took place on Sunday evening as the group travelled overland to reach the Israeli border, as all airspace over Israel has been closed to non-military flights. The operation was organised by Austria.
Mr Harris thanked the Austrian government for the “close co-operation which resulted in the successful evacuation”.
Further details of the route, or the country of destination, were not released. Mr Harris said the group was “expected to arrive in Ireland in the coming days”.
Mr Harris emphasised the work of consular response teams from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Tel Aviv, Dublin and across the Middle East, for their work in assisting Irish citizens in Israel and Iran.
He also said Irish diplomats were working to assist a small number of Irish citizens from Iran following the US strikes, but did not specify the number.
He said the challenges in evacuating citizens from both countries was “not easy”.
“The airspace is closed, and the only way of being evacuated is over the land border, involving long journeys that are not only difficult [to navigate] but also dangerous,” he said.
He said consular staff in both countries had a citizens’ registerand some 200 citizens had registered in Israel and 29 in Iran.
