German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have called on Israel and Iran to exercise restraint to avoid any further escalation of tension in the Middle East, a German government spokesman said on Thursday.

Axar.az informs, Reuters reports.

Israel has said it attacked nearly all of Iran’s military infrastructure in Syria after Iranian forces fired rockets at Israeli-held territory for the first time.

In a laudatory speech for Macron who received the prestigious Charlemagne Prize for strengthening European integration, Merkel said in reference to Iran and Israel: “We know that this is an extremely complicated situation.”

“The escalations of the past few hours show us that it is truly about war and peace. And I can only call on all sides to exercise restraint here,” Merkel added.