Chancellor Merkel, French President Macron and British Prime Minister Johnson are urging Iran to be cautious about the conflict between the US and Iran. They call on the Tehran government to adhere to the 2015 nuclear agreement.
The European government leaders emphasize the need for de-escalation. They also call on the other countries in the conflict to "utmost restraint and responsibility," and they agree that the "sovereignty and security of Iraq" must be protected.
Foreign Ministers are coming to Brussels for an additional meeting on Friday to discuss the European response to the increased American-Iranian tensions in the Middle East. EU Foreign Commissioner Borell hopes to have met the Iranian Foreign Minister before that time.
In fact, the EU countries are faced with the choice of whether they are still trying to sustain the stripped and dismantled Iranian nuclear agreement, or accept that the United States has withdrawn from it before and that Iran is not withdrawing from it now. will last longer.
On Sunday, part of the Iraqi parliament voted to expel all foreign soldiers from the US-led coalition against IS. Kurdish and Sunni MPs boycott that session. Iran said it would no longer adhere to the international atomic agreement. The 28 EU member states have serious concerns about this. That decision could mean that Iran will continue its nuclear program without restrictions.
The Dutch training mission in northern Iraq has also been stopped. The Defense organization reported on Sunday that around forty marines in Erbil would resume work this week. But the commander of the international coalition against IS has decided to suspend activities in Kurdish northern Iraq, said a spokesperson for Defense on Monday.
The training mission at Baghdad had been stopped earlier. There, three to twelve Dutch commanders train and advise Iraqi special forces. According to the spokesperson, there are no plans to retrieve the Dutch soldiers.
Also in the Arab world, there is a suspicious look at the threatening situation that Iran will avenge the American attack on their military commander against US posts and US interests in their region. Moreover, there is a fear of further expansion of Iranian-Shiite influences in Iraq, Syria and the Sunni Gulf region. In their reactions to the American attack, Arab countries try to prevent Tehran from putting them on the American-Israeli 'friend list'.