Supporting crimes: Europe’s approach to Zionist aggression in Iran

In an article, Responsible Statecraft Think tank wrote that the Zionist regime’s aggression was a violation of Iranian sovereignty and a brazen act of aggression that resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians, along with senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.

When the Zionist regime’s warplanes invaded Iran, European leaders did not condemn the attack. Instead, they strangely approved of the aggression and condemned Iran for having its territory invaded.

French President Emmanuel Macron set the tone by condemning Iran’s ongoing nuclear program and reiterating the Zionist regime’s alleged right to what is called self-defense and ensuring its security.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, seemed to be emphasizing the Israeli regime’s alleged right in the same tone, embellished with some clichés about the need for restraint and de-escalation.

The German Foreign Ministry went a step further and strongly condemned Iran for attacking the occupied territories, even before Iran fired its missiles in response to the Israeli aggression. This, while fully approving of the criminal actions of the Israeli regime.

This rhetoric represents the culmination of years of European diplomatic misconduct that helped create this crisis and exposed the rules-based order as a corpse. Europe’s double standards have undermined its credibility.

The European position on Ukraine invoked with political clarity Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, that all members must refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any state.

However, when the Zionist regime invaded Iran without any legal basis for what it called self-defense, Europe effectively treated aggression as a virtue and approved of it.

Experts say that Europe’s moral and diplomatic collapse has not gone unnoticed.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said in response to Macron’s statement: “On the day Israel attacked Iran, without any provocation, the president of a major European power finally acknowledged that in the Middle East, Israel and only Israel has the right to defend itself.”

The message from people like Albanese is clear: When Europe welcomes the Zionist regime’s invasion while condemning Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, it is not upholding universal law but applying its own tribal one; the law applies only to enemies, not friends.

Responsible Statecraft wrote: This is fatal to Europe’s pretense of moral authority; This is well-received in the global South, as well as among many European citizens.

This pretense seems even more plausible than the reality, given that the Middle East crisis began on the fertile ground of successive European failures. The first was the failure of three European countries (the UK, France, and Germany) to preserve the JCPOA after the US withdrew from it during the presidency of Donald Trump in 2018.

While the EU gave verbal support to the nuclear deal, it bowed to US sanctions and refused to protect European companies willing to do business with Iran. The EU allowed the JCPOA to fall apart, creating a vacuum for escalating tensions.

Moreover, while countries like Oman were mediating negotiations on a new nuclear deal between the United States and Iran, the European Union tried to get a resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, disrupting the de-escalation process and contributing to a more threatening and dangerous security environment.

These failures confirmed Tehran’s view that negotiating with Europe was futile. The three European countries are now seen not only as a weak party unable to fulfill their commitments under the nuclear deal, but also as an active and destructive actor undermining Iran’s security and regional stability.