European leaders joined the U.S in pushing for Israel to restrain its response to Iran’s drone and missile attack, in a bid to allay a wider military conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Israel must avoid worsening the situation in the Middle East. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made similar comments while visiting China, and both his foreign minister and that of the UK will travel to Israel later this week.

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, on Monday hosted Iraq’s leader at the White House as the administration worked to prevent an escalation in Mideast hostilities following Iran’s assault.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani was visiting for talks intended to focus primarily on U.S.-Iraq relations, which had been scheduled well before the Iranian strikes.

“Our partnership is pivotal for our nations, the Middle East and the world,” Biden told al-Sudani, as the Iraqi leader noted the discussion comes at a “sensitive time.”

Israel’s government has pledged to respond to Iran’s largely foiled attack, but U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to say whether the U.S. had been or expects to be briefed on Israeli plans. “We will let the Israelis speak to that,” he told reporters Monday.

The U.S. has already ruled out being party to a direct strike on Iran.

“We are not involved in their decision-making process about a potential response,” Kirby added.

The U.S, Europe, and Arab states are trying to convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that an aggressive reaction to Iran’s assault on Saturday night would harm Israel’s interests. They’re also concerned it could push up oil prices, hindering central banks’ attempts to slow inflation.

Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles in its first-ever attack on Israel from its own soil. Almost all were intercepted by Israeli, U.S, UK, French and some Arab forces. The projectiles caused minor damage and only one person, a child, was reported as injured.

Some Israeli ministers have said the country needs to carry out a harsh attack to deter Iran from any repeat assault. Netanyahu hasn’t laid out what he plans to do, beyond saying Israel will respond in some way.

The Israeli military has presented the government with a spectrum of possible actions, Peter Lerner, a spokesman, said in a Bloomberg Radio interview. “We need to be patient and understand that the situation here is very fragile,” he added.

“We’re going to do everything we can to avoid flare-ups, and try to convince Israel that we shouldn’t respond by escalating, but rather by isolating Iran,” Macron said Monday in an interview with France’s BFM TV and RMC radio.

Both he and Scholz condemned Iran’s actions. Macron said France may tighten sanctions against the Islamic Republic and put more pressure on it to curb its nuclear activities.

They and other Group of Seven members spoke with one another on Sunday and said they would make a diplomatic effort to stop “an uncontrollable regional escalation.”

Iran said its actions were a legitimate response to an April 1 attack on its diplomatic compound in Syria, for which it blamed Israel. That strike killed seven Iranian officers, including two generals.

Any reprisals by Israel should be limited to military interests and done in “a very calibrated manner to put an end to the back and forth,” said Macron, who said he plans to soon talk to Netanyahu.

Scholz will also speak with Netanyahu in an effort to prevent a further escalation, according to a person familiar with his plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity. On their trips to the Middle East later this week Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the UK’s David Cameron will both visit Israel, according to the Israeli public broadcaster Kan News.

“We’re very anxious to avoid escalation and to say to our friends in Israel it’s a time to think with with head as well as heart,” Cameron said to Times Radio on Monday.

Meeting with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Tamim before Biden’s session with al-Sudani, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. was urging all parties to avoid escalation.

“In the 36 hours since, we have been coordinating a diplomatic response to seek to prevent escalation,” he said. “Strength and wisdom need to be different sides of the same coin.”

Tamim said the Iraqi government was equally concerned.

“The Middle East today is living in exceptional circumstances that have repercussions on our nations, and we hope escalations and tensions in the area will end,” he said.

President Joe Biden, right, meets with Iraq’s Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)