Israel and the United States ramp up their attack on Iran

A number of European countries have offered their support to the attacking forces, after Iran targeted US and UK forces in Cyprus and the Persian Gulf. The UK has reportedly sent additional fighter jets to Qatar while France has given the US permission to use one of its bases for non-combat purposes. However, in general European leaders appear to be reluctant to get further involved in the attack.

Israel and the United States have stepped up their coordinated attacks on Iran, with Israel also continued its airstrikes in Lebanon. Iran fired a new wave of missiles at Israel early this morning, including Tel Aviv. As more and more countries try to evacuate their citizens from the Middle-East, maritime traffic has been further disrupted with both sides exchanging attacks on their respective maritime fleets. The Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz have been effectively closed down, with Iran saying it has established complete control over the strait.

Additionally, Tehran has rejected allegations that it launched aerial attacks against Turkey. And while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte claims that a ballistic missile headed for Turkey was shot down, the alliance does not plan on triggering its Article 5 mutual defense clause: “Article Five I think is not in order here. Nobody is talking about Article Five. Clearly NATO itself is not involved here. NATO allies are providing key enabling support. What we see here is that NATO in that sense is also this power projection platform for the United States, because without European allies, the US would have found it very difficult to launch this campaign against Iran. But we are, other than that, not directly involved. But from my conversations with senior American military and political leaders, it's my absolute sense that they know what they are doing.”

EU interior ministers are discussing the Israeli-American attack on Iran in Brussels today, with EU foreign affairs ministers holding a video conference earlier in the day, with both groups expressing solidarity with the Gulf countries. Speaking after the video conference of foreign ministers the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Croatia’s Dubravka Šuica, said that they are seeking out a diplomatic solution to the war: “What we agreed to at this meeting and what we discussed with our partners in the Persian Gulf is that we need to use diplomacy and de-escalate the situation. This isn't just about this small region. All of this can spill over into Europe, which is why this is a mutual concern.”

Source: HRT