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EU leaders plead with Trump not to respond to Iranian attacks
EU leaders relieved as Trump steps away from Iran conflict
(about 5 hours later)
Diplomats fear hawks in Washington are insisting the US respond militarily to missile attacks on US bases in Iraq
Relief in European capitals tempered by US president’s call to abandon rest of nuclear deal
European leaders have pleaded in public and in private with the Trump administration to draw a line in its conflict with Iran, and not to respond militarily to the Iranian missile attack on US forces in Iraq.
European leaders have breathed a sign of relief after Donald Trump heeded their public and private pleas to draw a line under his conflict with Iran and not respond militarily to the Iranian missile attacks on US forces in Iraq.
Donald Trump’s decision to cancel a planned statement to the American people late on Tuesday night was seen as a sign that the White House was willing to consult allies before taking any further action.
European leaders had been urging a pause to allow for a de-escalation and even the resumption of talks, calls that were helped by the absence of American casualties either due to good fortune or a deliberate decision by the Iranian military not to direct its 22 missiles at a base in which US forces were more vulnerable.
But European diplomats said they still feared that the weight of opinion in Washington was finely balanced, with hawks insisting that the US must respond militarily to the first official state sponsored attack on the US by Iran since the Iranian revolution in 1979.
But the Trump statement contained difficulties for Europe, including a request for Germany, France and the UK to abandon the remnants of the Iran nuclear deal, something European diplomats on balance still regard as a useful mechanism to remain in contact not just with Iran, but also Russia and China.
There is, however, relief that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his remarks on Wednesday morning did not speak of further military action and that the bulk of the Iranian military spokesman only threatened further action if the US itself fired back.
Trump also demanded in his statement that Nato – by which he predominantly meant Europe – take a greater role in the Middle East. His remarks reflected his belief that the US should be pulling back from the region, especially given it is now self-sufficient in energy and no longer as dependent on oil from the Gulf states.
The German defence minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, speaking on national breakfast television, said: “It is now up to the Iranians, above all, not to cause any additional escalation, which is why the appeal particularly goes to Tehran again.”
Although Europe and the US would like to negotiate a new, wider nuclear agreement with Iran, including constraints on Tehran’s regional activities in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, divisions between Europe and the US remain on how to achieve this.
She added: “I can only say, certainly on behalf of the federal government, that we strongly reject this aggression.”
Trump announced further sanctions on Iran as an alternative to a missile strike, but Europe has argued US economic pressure only entrenches Tehran’s hardliners. Ben Wallace, the UK defence secretary, was explicit on this point in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
The British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, in a statement issued hours after the attack, expressing concern over “reports of casualties and use of ballistic missiles”, said: “We condemn this attack on Iraqi military bases hosting coalition – including British – forces ... We urge Iran not to repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks, and instead to pursue urgent de-escalation.” He said a Middle East war would only be of benefit to Islamic State, a group that Iran is also fighting.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will have to judge whether the moment is right to launch a further effort at mediation. He has been pressing Trump to lift sanctions temporarily to open the road to talks, but the US president’s demeanour was of a man focused solely on the potential political benefits of killing who he sees as the world’s leading terrorist.
Raab will be able to convey this message personally to the White House administration when he flies to Washington on Wednesday. The prime minister, Boris Johnson, called on all sides to dial down the crisis, even as he defended the right of the US to act in its self-defence.
Most analysts believe Iran will still interpret the past week as having advanced its goal of driving the US out of Iraq and eventually the region. One British expert said: “Iran thinks in terms of campaigns, rather than single episodes. This was a calibrated first response, not sufficiently escalatory to send US Tomahawk missiles towards Tehran, the outcome they wanted to avoid.”
Ursula van der Leyden, the European commission president, at a morning press conference alongside the EU external affairs chief, Josep Borrell, said “the use of weapons must stop now to give space for dialogue. We are called upon to do everything possible to rekindle talks.”
There was also relief in Europe that in his remarks on Wednesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not discuss further military action, and that the Iranian military spokesman only threatened further action if the US fired back.
Borrell said the situation was “extremely worrying”, adding: “One thing is clear: the current situation puts at risk the efforts of the last years and also has implications for the important work of the anti-Daesh [Isis] coalition.”
Remarks in a tweet and follow-up interviews from Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, that the attacks by Tehran were proportionate and had concluded were critical in persuading Trump that he could declare Iran was standing down. The decision by the Revolutionary Guards to tell Iranians that 80 Americans were killed in the strike added to the sense that Tehran was not looking to mount a further assault.
He added: “The latest rocket attack on airbases in Iraq used by US and coalition forces, among them European forces, are yet another example of escalation and increased confrontation. It is in no one’s interests to turn up the spiral of violence even further.”
But European leaders still pleaded with Trump to show restraint. Hours after the attacks, the UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said Britain condemned the strikes but added that a Middle East war would only be of benefit to Islamic State.
Borrell also indicated he did not expect the EU states – France, Germany and the UK – to walk out of the Iran nuclear deal, saying it was the only framework in which they could talk formally to the Chinese and Russians about the Iran crisis.
The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, called on all sides to dial down the crisis while defending the right of the US to act in self-defence.
He added that he hoped it would be possible to have a meeting soon with the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European commission president, said: “The use of weapons must stop now to give space for dialogue. We are called upon to do everything possible to rekindle talks.”
The French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said: “France condemns the attacks carried out last night by Iran in Iraq against the rights of the coalition against Daesh. It reiterates its solidarity with its allies and partners in the coalition, as well as its attachment to the sovereignty and security of Iraq. The priority goes more than ever to de-escalation. The cycle of violence must end. France, for its part, remains determined to work to ease tensions.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, said: “One thing is clear – the current situation puts at risk the efforts of the last years and also has implications for the important work of the anti-Daesh [Isis] coalition. It is in no one’s interests to turn up the spiral of violence even further.”
“France recalls the importance of continuing the fight against Daesh, with full respect for the sovereignty of Iraq.”
The French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said: “The priority goes more than ever to de-escalation. The cycle of violence must end. France, for its part, remains determined to work to ease tensions. France recalls the importance of continuing the fight against Daesh, with full respect for the sovereignty of Iraq.”
Zarif was also inundated by calls from world leaders, including the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to prevent any further official attacks. He has said in interviews and tweets that the Iranian response has concluded, a vital message he had been pressed to make by mediators.
Zarif was inundated with calls from world leaders, including the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to prevent any further official attacks.
It was also notable that neither Saudi Arabia nor the United Arab Emirates issued calls for retaliation from Washington. Anwar Gargash, the influential foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, said: “It is essential that the region pulls back from the current and troubling tensions. De-escalation is both wise and necessary. A political path towards stability must follow.”
Some diplomats said it may be a stroke of pivotal good fortune that no US forces appear to have been killed in the attacks.
It was of no consequence that Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps was claiming 80 US soldiers had been killed, since this assessment might assuage domestic opinion.
The difficulty is that many other non-Iranian state actors are poised, such as Iraqi popular mobilisation units, and have said they are determined to exact separate revenge on US troops. Qais al-Khazali who leads the Asaib Ahl al-Haq group, has promised matching retribution.
