Irish leaders stress ‘urgent' need for de-escalation after US strikes on Iran
There is an 'urgent' need for de-escalation and diplomacy in the Middle East, Ireland's leaders have said.
Premier Micheal Martin and deputy premier Simon Harris said a negotiated solution is needed and they will be working closely with their EU counterparts this week.
' Iran should unequivocally disavow the development of nuclear weapons,' Mr Martin said.
'A negotiated solution is the way forward. We remain in close contact with international partners ahead of the EU council.'
Mr Harris said a 'dangerous' escalation between Iran and Israel is now more real and more likely than ever before.
He said staff from the Irish embassy in Tehran left the country on Friday, and he is being updated on Irish peacekeepers stationed in Lebanon.
'I am closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East following military action by the United States on three nuclear facilities in Iran overnight,' Mr Harris said.
'The risk of an extremely dangerous spiral of escalation in relation to Iran and Israel is now more real and more likely than ever before.
'There is an urgent need for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy. This has been the focus of my engagement with EU partners and countries in the region since this current crisis began. It will remain Ireland's priority in the hours and days ahead.'
Mr Harris said Ireland and Europe are 'fully united in the clear view' that Iran should not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.
'The way to address this was always through a negotiated solution. Any alternative to that is simply too dangerous for civilians, for the Middle East region and for global security.'
He said the International Atomic Energy Agency's statement on Sunday is 'a stark reminder of these dangers'.
He added: 'While there is no initial reporting of any increase in off-site radiation levels as a result of overnight developments, it is a warning as to how easily that could change should further escalation occur, and the disaster that could pose.
'Together with my EU counterparts, we will in the coming hours and days discuss and review the latest developments and consider the next steps Europe can usefully play to support de-escalation.'
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But Iran is believed to have reinforced the centrifuge halls at Fordow with ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC), which can withstand six times the amount of pressure of normal concrete – up to 30,000-lb per square inch. If Iran used the best quality UHPC, Fordow would have been significantly harder to destroy. Given that the site is underground, it remains difficult to assess the scale of the damage yet, with both Iranian and US officials saying they are still conducting evaluations. Natanz Above-ground facilities at Natanz, Iran's largest enrichment site, had already been damaged by extensive Israeli strikes, as shown by satellite imagery. The destruction of the site's electric substation may have knocked out power, potentially damaging centrifuges by causing them to spin out of control, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog. Natanz also housed an underground centrifuge hall thought to have been the target of two US bunker-busters. 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Overall assessment A fuller picture of overall damage may emerge in the coming days, with experts urging caution about attaching too much credibility to the US president's more optimistic pronouncements or to Iran's defiant claims that its nuclear capacity remains largely intact. Clionadh Raleigh, head of the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a conflict-monitoring group, warned that although the strikes might alter the timeline of Iran's nuclear programme, they would do little to alter its ultimate trajectory. 'The regime's broader power and intentions are likely to remain intact,' said Ms Raleigh. 'Iran's military and intelligence systems are designed and built to survive. The structure is deeply layered and resistant to collapse. Even if key infrastructure is destroyed, the system adapts – and in some cases, becomes more dangerous in the process. 'There's no evidence that the strikes will permanently end Iran's pursuit of nuclear capabilities. What they may do is shift the timeline.' Others were less cautious. Mick Mulroy, a former Pentagon official who served in the first Trump administration, told the New York Times that the US strikes will 'likely set back the Iranian nuclear programme two to five years' – an assessment shared by Jason Brodsky of United Against a Nuclear Iran, a US-based pressure group. The setback stems not only from the strikes themselves. Repairing the damage will be far harder following the assassination of more than a dozen nuclear scientists in the past 10 days, Israeli officials said. 'Several of the eliminated scientists had spent decades advancing nuclear weapons, constituting a significant part of the Iranian regime's plans to annihilate the State of Israel,' one official said. 'These scientists had diverse professional expertise and extensive experience.'
