PARIS (AP) — Three close allies of the United States yesterday said they were ready to join forces to defend their interests in the Middle East and stop Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone attacks following the death of its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as other countries expressed concerns that the conflict sparked by coordinated American and Israeli strikes could spill over into a broader war.
The United Kingdom, France and Germany said they were prepared to work with the United States.
“We will take action to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially by enabling a necessary and proportionate defensive measure to destroy Iran’s ability to fire missiles and drones at their source,” they said in a joint statement. “We have agreed to work together with the United States and allies in the region on this matter.”
Europe has mostly stayed out of the war and pushed for diplomacy, but in a sign of how the conflict could involve other nations, Britain, France and Germany said Sunday they were ready to work with Washington to help stop Iran’s attacks.
Allies join
In their statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they were “horrified” by Iran’s “reckless” attacks on its allies, which threaten its service members and citizens in the region.
A drone attack damaged a hangar at a French naval base in the port of Abu Dhabi, according to the French defense minister. British Defense Secretary John Healey said yesterday that the Iranian strikes came within a few hundred meters of British military personnel in Bahrain.
In the wake of the attacks on its bases, Starmer announced that the United Kingdom will allow the United States to use them to attack Iran.
Top diplomats from the 27-nation European Union held an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss the bloc’s next steps.
“The death of Ali Khamenei is a defining moment in Iran’s history,” said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. “But now there is an open path to a different Iran, one that its people can have greater freedom to shape.”
They call for moderation
Perhaps fearing to further strain already frayed relations with US President Donald Trump, many countries, including several in the Middle East, refrained from directly or forcefully commenting on the US-Iran unilateral attack, but condemned Tehran’s retaliation.
The 22-nation Arab League called the Iranian attacks “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of countries that advocate peace and strive for stability.”
“Come to your senses… and deal with your neighbors with reason and responsibility before the circle of isolation and escalation widens,” Anwar Gargash, advisor to the president of the United Arab Emirates, told Iran.
The United Arab Emirates closed its embassy in Iran and announced the withdrawal of its diplomatic mission after Iranian attacks hit the country.
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Khamenei’s death, which he described as “a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”
“The blatant assassination of the leader of a sovereign state and the incitement of regime change are unacceptable,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
At a glance
Chile
President Gabriel Boric condemned the acts of violence, stating that “unilateral attacks by the United States on Iran are unacceptable,” and also rejected Iran’s actions against other countries.
Cuba
President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote that his government gave its “heartfelt condolences” to the people of Iran and its authorities for what he called the assassination of Khamenei.
Paraguay
Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez “conveyed all the support and solidarity of the Paraguayan government” to Israel.
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