‘Europe Helped Create These Conditions’: Iran Blames EU For US-Israel Attacks

Last Updated:March 09, 2026, 17:36 IST

Iran accused Europe, including France, of enabling US and Israeli attacks. German Chancellor Merz avoided confronting Trump.

Iran on Monday accused European countries including France of creating the conditions that led to the United States and Israel attacking the Islamic republic and triggering a war.

During a weekly press briefing, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said," European countries have unfortunately helped create these conditions."

“Instead of insisting on the rule of law, instead of standing up to the bullying and excesses of the United States, they spoke and agreed with them at the UN Security Council regarding the discussion on restoring sanctions, and all these things together emboldened the American and Zionist parties to continue committing their crimes."

Merz Avoids Confronting Trump

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz avoided publicly lecturing Donald Trump on international law during his White House visit, even though many experts believe the US-Israeli attack on Iran violated international law.

After the strikes, Merz described the situation as a “dilemma," arguing that international legal measures had failed to achieve anything against Iran’s leadership over recent decades. He has also repeatedly warned, both in the Bundestag and during trips abroad, about the erosion of the rules-based international order and multilateralism.

According to Henning Hoff of the German Council on Foreign Relations, the approach is less about Berlin’s real assessment of the Israeli-American military action and more about stabilising the transatlantic relationship, as Merz did not want to publicly anger or contradict Trump.

In practice, Merz has adopted a restrained stance toward Trump’s strategy. While expressing doubts, he has stopped short of condemning it. A similar approach was visible earlier, when he described the legal situation around a US military intervention in Venezuela as “complicated," despite widespread agreement among experts that it violated international law.

The chancellor has also defended Israeli actions against Iran in the past, even saying Israel was doing the “dirty work… for all of us."

Critics say this reflects what Hoff calls a “situational" relationship with international law.

Britain Backs De-escalation

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has taken a cautious approach to the conflict, distancing the United Kingdom from the initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran while urging de-escalation.

Starmer has said Britain would not join offensive operations, stressing the need for a lawful and measured response and warning against attempts at “regime change from the skies."

At the same time, his government has deployed additional military assets to the region for defensive purposes and to protect British personnel and allies, as tensions continue to rise across the West Asia.

News world ‘Europe Helped Create These Conditions’: Iran Blames EU For US-Israel Attacks

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