European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a May 2025 meeting. Photo: Andy Rain/EPA/Bloomberg.
By Alan MacLeod – Mar 4, 2026
European nations are joining the United States and Israel in their war on Iran. From providing economic and diplomatic support, to supplying military assistance to Washington, Europe is moving from a passive supporter to an active participant in the campaign to overthrow the Iranian government.
Chief among these actors is the United Kingdom, who is allowing its military bases across the world to be used in the attack. These include sites in Cyprus and on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Prime Minister Keir Starmer also revealed that British aircraft were “in the skies” over the Middle East, aiding its allies in their operation.
Despite this, Starmer’s tepid rhetorical support for the bombing earned him official rebuke from both President Trump and his domestic adversaries. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, for instance, condemned Starmer for being “too scared” to stand against Iran, lest it anger the public. A recent poll found that only 28% of Britons support the US’ military actions against Iran. Sensing massive public opposition, Nick Robinson, one of the BBC’s most influential political anchors, suggested that public protests against the Iran War should be preemptively banned.
On Sunday, an Iranian drone hit a UK military base in British-occupied Cyprus, causing Britain to evacuate the families of service members stationed there.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was vociferous in her support for the US/Israeli regime change project. “There is renewed hope for the long-suffering people of Iran. We strongly support their right to determine their own future,” she wrote, condemning Iran for its supposed aggression against its neighbors, while saying nothing about the attacks on Tehran and other cities.
She also revealed that she had spoken to a number of Gulf state dictators, including the heads of state of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain. Describing them as “strategic partners,” she reiterated Europe’s full support for them.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also signed off on the US/Israel war. In a long statement that included a number of factual errors, he wrote that, “The Iranian people have the right to determine their own future. Germany is coordinating closely with the United States, Israel and partners in the region,” adding:
“In recent weeks, the regime in Tehran has brutally suppressed the peaceful protests of courageous Iranian women and men…The United States has long sought a negotiated solution. Iran has not agreed to a reliable arrangement to end its military nuclear program, nor has it committed to scaling back its missile program or ceasing destabilizing activities.”
Merz ended by calling on Iran to cease its military attacks on Israel. It did not ask for the US or Israel to do the same. “Israel is a victim of unjust war, like Ukraine,” he said. Later, Merz went even further, stating that, “This terrible regime in Tehran must go,” and even that Iran should not be protected by international law.
Tellingly, Israel chose Germany as the safest location to store its presidential aircraft, Wing of Zion, during the war, sending it to Berlin last week.
French president Emmanuel Macron echoed Merz’s words, condemning Iran for its belligerence, calling for regime change in Tehran, and offering no rebuke of US or Israeli actions. He also noted that “France also stands ready to deploy the necessary resources to protect its closest partners, should they request it,” a statement that suggests Paris is ready to involve itself more deeply in the war at any moment.
At the same time, Macron announced a major revamp of France’s atomic missiles program, predicting that “the next fifty years will be an era of nuclear weapons.” The president stated that France had agreed to a new “advanced deterrence” strategy that will see French nuclear weapons capability being expanded to cover eight other European countries: the UK, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden, and Denmark.
The only major European Union country currently opposing the assault on Iran is Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calling it a “violation of international law” and an “unjustified and dangerous military intervention.” The government in Madrid refused to allow American troops stationed at military bases in his country to be used in the attack, insisting that they must “operate within the framework of international law” if they wish to stay in Spain.
Immediately, more than a dozen large US aircraft left bases in southern Spain for Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, the headquarters of the United States Air Forces in Europe and Africa.
The diplomatic reaction from Washington was equally swift. Trump announced that he would cripple Spain’s economy as a punishment. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain, we don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he said, thereby stating his intention to treat Madrid in the same fashion as the US treats Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela.
The European reaction to the war on Iran is part of a wider trend of increased vassalization of the continent. It did not react when US forces blew up the Nordstream II pipeline between Russia and Germany, nor when Trump declared a huge trade war on the continent. And it immediately began negotiating when Trump stated his intention to annex Greenland from Denmark.
Europe has long been helping Israel carry out its genocide in Gaza, blocking international efforts at the United Nations, sending weapons to the IDF, and sharing military intelligence. For years, British spy planes – based in the same bombed air base in Cyprus – have surveiled Gaza and likely passed that information on to Tel Aviv.
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At the same time, governments have vigorously suppressed pro-Palestine demonstrations, even as its population turns against Israel. A recent continent-wide survey found that 20 times as many Italians hold “very unfavorable” (43%) views of Israel than “very favorable” ones (2%). Even in Germany, where popular support for Israel is highest, only 21% said they hold favorable opinions of the state (including only 4% highly favorable), with 65% displaying open opposition (including 32% who strongly dislike it). A massive plurality of Britons, meanwhile, agreed with the statement: “Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews.”
Germany, though, has initiated blanket bans on Palestine solidarity, including prohibiting the phrase, “From the River to the Sea.” German journalist Hüseyin Doğru has been sanctioned by the EU over his Gaza reporting, leaving him without any access to money. And in the United Kingdom, police have arrested nearly 2000 people under the Terrorism Act for their support of activist group, Palestine Action.
Earlier this month, Avi Nir-Feldklein, Israel’s ambassador to the EU, said that the continent was already “in a war with Iran.” He is right: Europe is a direct participant in the US/Israeli operation, the consequences of which could be extremely grave, and greater than anyone imagined.
Alan MacLeod
Alan MacLeod is a member of the Glasgow University Media Group and a Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams.
