World leaders fear broader escalation after Iran attack
European leaders held emergency security meetings and scrambled to protect their citizens in the Middle East after US and Israeli attacks on Iran triggered global concerns that it would escalate into a wider conflict.
French President Emmanuel Macron called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in response to the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Germany and Britain will hold their own emergency meetings on Saturday to discuss the situation.
The European Union is evacuating some of its personnel from the region.
The responses came after the US and Israel launched a massive attack on targets across Iran, with US President Donald Trump calling on the Iranian people to “take over your government”; It was an extraordinary call that suggested they might seek to end the country’s theocracy after decades of tensions.
US attacks create a dilemma for its democratic allies.
While European leaders staunchly oppose Iran’s nuclear program and the pressures of its rigid theocracy, they are loathe to embrace Trump’s unilateral military action, which could violate international law and unleash a broader conflict.
Trump’s attack on Iran last June and the arrest of Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro last month caused a similar stalemate.
It was not clear whether US allies were given any advance warning of the attacks.
The German government said the notification was made only on Saturday morning.
France’s deputy defense minister said France knew something was going to happen but did not know when.
Macron said in his statement: “The ongoing tension is dangerous for everyone. It must stop.”
The president said France, which has military presence in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan, would offer military assistance to its partners in the Middle East.
“The outbreak of war between the USA, Israel and Iran has serious consequences for peace and international security,” Macron said.
He called on the Iranian government to remain committed to negotiations regarding its nuclear and ballistic programs.
“The Iranian people also need to be able to build their future freely. The massacres carried out by the Islamic regime disqualify it and require the people to be given the right to speak,” he said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency committee on Saturday morning.
“We do not want to see a further escalation of a wider regional conflict,” a UK government spokesman said, reiterating Britain’s support for a negotiated solution to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. England did not participate in the strikes.
Responding to the attack, the European Union’s top diplomat described the conflict in the Middle East as “dangerous” and said he was working with Israeli and Arab officials to achieve negotiated peace.
Kaja Kallas, foreign policy chief of the 27-nation bloc, said in a post on social media, “The Iranian regime has killed thousands of people. Its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, together with its support for terrorist groups, pose a serious threat to global security.”
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons condemned the US and Israeli attacks on Iran in harsher terms.
“These attacks are completely irresponsible and risk escalating tensions as well as increasing the danger of nuclear proliferation and use of nuclear weapons,” said Executive Director Melissa Parke.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim condemned Israeli attacks on Iran and the accompanying US military action, warning that the escalating conflict was pushing the Middle East “to the brink of disaster”.
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