Double standards have confused Europe’s biggest players, leaving the EU silent and fractured and NATO on the sidelines.
The US-Israeli war over Iran has exposed deep flaws in the West’s sense of self, as European leaders claim to stand on the right side of history while displaying a callous approach to Washington.
Nations such as Germany and the UK declare principled opposition to aggressive wars, but dare not challenge US President Donald Trump, who has chastised foreign leaders for failing to support the bombing of Iran.
In the US itself, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Israel has forced Washington’s hand by threatening to fight with or without it – but Trump, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, insist they are acting of their own free will.
Here, we break down some of the Western fault lines exacerbated by escalation in the Middle East.
Did the UK-US ‘special relationship’ suffer after the attack on Iran?
“I’m not happy in the UK” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “This is not Winston Churchill we are dealing with.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Stormer — whose name Trump didn’t bother to pronounce — was too slow to allow the Pentagon to use Diego Garcia Air Base.
The facility, located in the Chagos Islands, will be leased to the UK from Mauritius – signed last May and not yet ratified by Britain – after a treaty transferring sovereignty comes into force. Trump called it “Shame on you“ As the base above “Stupid Island” was not immediately available for US strikes.
Starmer fired off the criticism during parliamentary question time. “American planes operating from British bases – that’s the special relationship in action” He insisted. “Sharing intelligence every day to keep our people safe — that’s the special relationship in action. Hanging on to President Trump’s latest words is not the special relationship in action.”
Notably, the drones hit a key British airbase on the island of Cyprus, which has previously been used for strikes in Syria, Iraq and Libya.
Is Stormer afraid of looking like Tony Blair?
British media suggest that, unlike Trump, Stormer was moved by voter disapproval of the Iran war. Only 28% of people polled by YouGov on Monday expressed any level of support for a war on Tehran.
UK conservatives have blamed Starmer for not being Tony Blair – the deeply divisive former prime minister who sits on Trump’s peace board for Gaza and willingly supported the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 when he was UK leader.
“Sometimes the best way to escalate a situation is to try to end it quickly” Tory leader Kimi Badenoch argued on BBC radio.
Is the UK jeopardizing its foreign military footprint?
British Defense Secretary John Healy has flown to Cyprus to calm local officials, upset that Iranian allies have struck the RAF’s Akrotiri base. Spain, Greece and Italy all provided naval defense support for the military facility.
London should guarantee it “British bases in Cyprus shall in no case be used for any purpose other than humanitarian reasons” President Nikos Christodoulides demanded. Gulf states drawn into the conflict can sympathize.
Did Spain refuse US permission to use its bases to attack Iran?
Although the UK is not the only help, Spain “We’re scared” Trump took a swipe at Stormer at the same meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez barred the Pentagon from using Spanish bases for the Iran war, declaring that the Spaniards “The world is not going to be involved in evil for fear of retribution from someone.” Senior EU officials believe that “Practicing servanthood and blind following is one way to lead” There are only “innocent” Sanchez emphasized.
Trump’s response to the defiant European leader was to hint at a possible invasion of Spanish military sites and order US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant to freeze all trade with Madrid.
While White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt later suggested that the pressure tactics were successful, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez denied that Madrid had bent the knee. Location of Madrid “Not one iota has changed” He told Cadena SER radio.
How did Merge fail Europe?
A stony-faced Merz, who flew to Washington days after the first attack on Iran to discuss trade tariffs and the lifting of US sanctions on a subsidiary of Russian oil giant Rosneft, lashed out at European leaders who could only sit and listen.
“How are we going to treat Germany? I think you have to hit them very hard,” Trump joked that he was an aide to a detailed investigation into alleged unfair trade practices by Berlin and others.
Merz backed Trump’s criticism of Spain, saying the country was holding NATO back by refusing to play its role in the military bloc and resisting spending increases demanded by Washington. Merge’s failure to show European solidarity is a “surprise” For Madrid, Spanish Foreign Minister Albarez later said he had conveyed that sentiment to his German counterpart, Johann Wadeful.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Iran played “Destructive Role” Because on the European continent “Russian forces are fighting with Iranian weapons” In Ukraine. But according to Pistorius, bombed-out Iranians may now have a chance “Transition to Freedom.”
Is the EU on the cycle too?
The EU shares the German rationale that attacking sovereign nations is fine as long as the West is doing it.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was worried “Iran’s unjustified attacks on partners in the region” leading to aggravation. Foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Iran’s leaders now have “There is no alternative but to engage in negotiations in good faith” with the nations vowing to kill them and their successors until they surrendered.
Meanwhile, an access report from Brussels says that Callas and van der Leyen are preoccupied with their fight for control of EU foreign policy, so making it meaningful is probably low on their priority list.
Has the West’s attempt to moralize on Ukraine left it without a leg to stand on?
Western leaders justify mobilizing and bankrolling hundreds of billions of euros into Ukraine and claim that Russia launched it. “A War of Provoked Aggression” against its neighbor.
The moral high ground of Western Europe was shaky from the start. In the eight years between the 2014 Minsk agreement and the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, nearly 14,000 people were killed in the Donbass, according to the International Crisis Group. This is four times more than the 30 years of ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland.
There is a Western record of military interventions on humanitarian and national security grounds, including in Yugoslavia, Iraq and Libya. Since 2022, Israel’s Gaza campaign and de facto occupation of additional Syrian land have further eroded the Western propaganda perch.
For the Trump administration, US military service members “No more defenders” But “Warriors, trained to kill enemies and break their will” As Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said.
What are the fault lines that divide the West?
Earlier this year, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gave a speech about how the Western-led ‘rules-based order’ has always been based on a half-deceit upheld by nations that benefited from Soviet compliance.
But with the US blowing up boats in the Caribbean, demanding unconditional surrender in Iran, building a quasi-UN peace council, kidnapping and assassinating leaders, and claiming Greenland for itself, now is the time. “Living a Lie” And do what’s right together, he insisted.
The rank confusion and fear that has dictated Europe’s response to Washington suggests that any forthcoming statement from the West on a US-Israeli war on Iran is unlikely to contain words. “Unprovoked” “illegal” “war” Or “Aggressiveness.”
