Iran tells Europe: Helping the U.S. and Israel – means War

Iran has warned European countries that if they join U.S. and Israeli attacks on its territory, Tehran will see them as having entered the current war in the Middle East, POLITICO reports.

Rejecting the framing of leaders like the U.K.’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has said bombing Iranian missile installations is a “defensive” action, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tuesday that joining the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran would constitute an “act of war.”

“Defensive is synonym for offensive. Does that make sense? Do they want to deprive Iran of its capability and capacity to fight back against the aggressors?” he asked, speaking in English. “That would be a shame, if these countries take sides with the aggressors. They have already done enough against Iran.”

Iran’s warning comes as European governments scramble to define their role in an escalating Middle East conflict, weighing U.S. requests for military support against fears of being drawn directly into the war.

Iranian retaliatory attacks have hit military bases where European soldiers are stationed, and France said on Monday that it will bolster its military presence in the Middle East. Iranian attacks against civilian buildings and infrastructure in Gulf countries have also spooked authorities, with many European countries rushing to organize outbound travel for their stranded citizens.

In a statement the leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. said they would take steps including “potentially enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source.”

Starmer, for example, said on Sunday that he would allow the U.S. to use British bases to launch attacks on Iran, as long as they served “that specific and limited defensive purpose” of striking at Iran’s missile capabilities.

Shortly after Starmer’s statement, a drone strike hit the British military facility of Akrotiri in Cyprus.

Cyprus is the EU country closest to Iran and has been at pains to emphasize it is not part of the conflict. Nicosia reproached the U.K. over the wording of Starmer’s statement, and Greece and France have subsequently rushed military assets to Cyprus to protect the island from further aerial attacks.

...Europe has found itself in an ambiguous situation.

On the one hand, European countries are actively assisting Ukraine in its war against Russia – with money, weapons and mercenaries.

On the other hand, Europe being an ally of the United States has no resources to participate in the war against Iran on the side of USA and Israel, which few in Europe like. Europe is trying its best to funnel assets against Russia in Ukraine.

That means – too many wars for the Western unity. The unity of EU and NATO's ranks is crumbling before our eyes - injustice always fails!

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