Malaysia calling for cooler heads in Middle East, says Defence Minister

KOTA TINGGI: Malaysia is calling for cooler heads to prevail in the Middle East following rising tensions between Iran and Israel.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the Malaysian government was giving full attention to current developments in the Middle East.

“The government has made its stand known and is pushing for the situation there to be brought under control.

“We do not want attacks and retaliation turning into a full-blown war involving other countries.

“This will be very bad for the whole world and obviously Malaysia will not be exempt,” he added.

Mohamed Khaled, who is also Kota Tinggi MP, said this after attending the Kota Tinggi Umno division open house at Dataran Tanjung Sedili here on Saturday (April 20) night.

He also called for countries with relations with both Iran and Israel to make full use of their roles to de-escalate the tension.

It was reported that Israel launched an attack on Iranian soil on Friday (April 19) in the latest tit-for-tat exchange between the two nations.

Iranian media reported explosions but an Iranian official said those were caused by air defence systems. State media said three drones over the central city of Isfahan had been shot down.

A senior Iranian official also said they have no plan for immediate retaliation against Israel.

An air strike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 was blamed on Israel.

Iran, on April 13, launched hundreds of drones and missiles in a retaliatory strike.

Most of the drones and missiles were downed before reaching Israeli territory.