EU nations call for 'maximum restraint', respect for international law in Iran conflict

• Summary

• Bloc also calls Iran’s attacks on neighbours ‘inexcusable’

• Countries express concerns about economic consequences

• Statement reflects diverse views among EU countries on US-Israeli strikes

• Europe has little influence over conflict, diplomats say

BRUSSELS, March 1 (Reuters) - The European Union’s 27 nations on Sunday called for “maximum restraint” and full respect for international law in the Iran conflict, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

“We call for maximum restraint, protection of civilians and full respect of international law, including the principles of the United Nations Charter, and international humanitarian law,” said a statement issued by Kallas on behalf of all EU members.

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The statement came after an emergency video conference of EU foreign ministers on Sunday, called after the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran, and Tehran responded with strikes on Israel, U.S. forces and Gulf countries.

“Iran’s attacks and violation of sovereignty of a number of countries in the region are inexcusable. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes,” the EU statement said.

EU STATEMENT ALSO REFLECTS ECONOMIC CONCERNS

Reflecting concerns about disruptions to oil deliveries and supply chains, it said the conflict “must not lead to an escalation that could threaten the Middle East, Europe and beyond, with unpredictable consequences, also in the economic sphere.”

“The disruption of critical waterways, like the Strait of Hormuz, must be avoided,” the statement added.

The text was a compromise that reflected diverse views within the EU - a bloc that represents some 450 million Europeans - on the military action launched by U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that now was not the time to lecture partners and allies. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, by contrast, “rejected” the U.S. and Israeli action on Saturday, saying it “contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order”.

Behind the scenes, diplomats said Europe has little influence over the unfolding conflict, even though it may have a major impact on the continent.

“Not too many options, I am afraid. Certainly not short-term,” a Western European official said.

Europeans are “just bystanders, nobody has leverage with Trump,” an EU diplomat said.

Reporting by Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Ros Russell

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Andrew Gray

Thomson Reuters

Andrew Gray is Reuters’ European Affairs Editor. Based in Brussels, he covers NATO and the European Union and leads a pan-European team of reporters focused on diplomacy, defence and security. A journalist for almost 30 years, he has previously been based in the UK, Germany, Geneva, the Balkans, West Africa and Washington, where he reported on the Pentagon. He covered the Iraq war in 2003 and contributed a chapter to a Reuters book on the conflict. He has also worked at Politico Europe as a senior editor and podcast host, served as the main editor for a fellowship programme for journalists from the Balkans, and contributed to the BBC’s From Our Own Correspondent radio show.

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