European Union foreign ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses and expanding sanctions on Iran, Reuters reported.
While the ministers will also discuss the war in Sudan, most of their focus will be on the conflicts raging on the 27-member bloc’s eastern and southern doorsteps – in Ukraine and the Middle East.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg have been urging European countries to step up their own efforts to give arms to Ukraine, particularly air defense, noted Reuters.
The ministers will also seek agreement on how much further to go in sanctioning Iran, following Tehran’s missile and drone attack on Israel the weekend before last.
On Wednesday, EU leaders decided to step up sanctions against Iran after its attack on Israel.
In a statement published after a summit in Brussels, EU leaders condemned the Iranian attack, reaffirmed their commitment to Israel's security and called on all sides to prevent more tensions, including in Lebanon.
"The European Union will take further restrictive measures against Iran, notably in relation to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missiles," the leaders said.
EU top diplomat Josep Borrell has previously said the European Union will prepare to expand its sanctions on Iran in response to Tehran's attack on Israel.
"Today, ministers took a strong stance, asking all actors in the region to move away from the abyss, in order not to fall into it," he told reporters.
Borrell, the EU's high representative for foreign policy, warned the Middle East would be in "full war" if every development in the current crisis is followed by an escalation.
Finance leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) industrial democracies also condemned Iran's attack on Israel and pledged to coordinate measures to diminish Iran's ability to acquire, produce, or transfer weapons.