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\n Published on 28\/02\/2026 – 13:11 GMT+1\u2022Updated
\n 16:23\n <\/p>\n
European leaders reacted with a mix of alarm and caution to news of joint U.S.\u2013Israeli military strikes on Iran \u2014 operations the Pentagon has referred to as \u201cOperation Epic Fury\u201d \u2014 warning that the offensive risked widening the conflict across the Middle East.<\/p>\n
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French president Emmanuel Macron called the strikes an “outbreak of war” that “carries serious consequences for international peace and security.” France, he said, will call for an “urgent meeting” of the United Nations Security Council. <\/p>\n
In a joint statement, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa called the developments \u201cgreatly concerning,\u201d urging all sides to avoid steps that could further inflame tensions or weaken the global non-proliferation framework.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, to protect civilians, and to fully respect international law,\u201d von der Leyen and Costa wrote in statement posted on X. <\/p>\n
Von der Leyen announced she was convening a special security college on Monday.<\/p>\n
The EU\u2019s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, struck a somewhat more measured tone, characterizing the situation as \u201cperilous.\u201d Iran\u2019s regime, she wrote, \u201chas killed thousands,\u201d and \u201cits ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, along with support for terror groups, pose a serious threat to global security.\u201d<\/p>\n
But \u201cprotection of civilians and international humanitarian law is a priority,\u201d she said, adding that the EU\u2019s “Aspides” naval force remained \u201con high alert\u201d in the Red Sea and \u201cstands ready to help keep the maritime corridor open.\u201d <\/p>\n
The remarks came just hours after the United States and Israel launched large-scale strikes across Iran, reportedly targeting a compound in central Tehran believed to house the residence of Iran\u2019s 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n
During the operation, US President Donald Trump advised Iranians to seek shelter and asserted in a video shared on social media that Iran has persisted in expanding its nuclear program and is aiming to build missiles capable of striking the United States.<\/p>\n
Several EU leaders express concern<\/p>\n
Strains between Washington and Tehran have intensified sharply following the latest round of nuclear negotiations in Geneva on Thursday aimed at finalising a new agreement.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Macron urged Iran’s regime to “enter into good-faith negotiations” to bring an end to its nuclear and ballistic programs. “This is absolutely essential for the security of everyone in the Middle East.” <\/p>\n
The European Union has adopted extensive sanctions in response to Iran\u2019s human rights violations, the country\u2019s military support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its nuclear proliferation activities.<\/p>\n
Last month, the bloc took fresh sanctions against members of the Iranian regime after thousands were killed in the regime\u2019s recent crackdown on protestors. It also decided to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran to the EU terrorist list.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, European Parliament president Roberta Metsola warned against “a spiral of escalation that could threaten the Middle East, Europe and beyond.”<\/p>\n
Several European foreign ministers also voiced concern over the strikes. <\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s Foreign Minister Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares said that Spain was monitoring the situation and demanded respect for international law. \u201cViolence only brings chaos. De-escalation and dialogue are the path to peace and stability,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
He said all of Spain\u2019s embassies in the region were still operational for its citizens.<\/p>\n
Video editor \u2022 Jerry Fisayo-Bambi<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published on 28\/02\/2026 – 13:11 GMT+1\u2022Updated 16:23 European leaders reacted with a mix of alarm and caution to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":796107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[2000,81287,299,5187,1699,774,837,49],"class_list":{"0":"post-796106","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-eu-iran","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-european","12":"tag-european-union","13":"tag-iran","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-united-states"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116151889833910196","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}