Ana Vracar
While government leaders in Europe offered support for illegal US-Israel attacks on Iran, the regional left insists on restraint and an end to the war. “Throughout the region, Western military intervention has brought destruction, not democracy,” Belgian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Marc Botenga emphasized recently. “Who could believe Trump and war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu care about Iranian lives?”
Since the first attacks on Iran, EU officials have overwhelmingly spoken of Iran’s response, stating they are following “developments” with “utmost concern” and considering new sanctions on the West Asian country. Shortly before a speech by President Emmanuel Macron glorifying the French (and European) nuclear “deterrent,” EU High Representative Kaja Kallas issued a statement saying that “the EU has consistently urged Iran to end Iran’s nuclear program.”
The hypocrisy of the EU narrative was not lost on Europe’s left parliamentarians. Addressing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, MEPs from the Spanish progressive party Podemos criticized the overall EU reaction. “The offensive carried out by the US and Israel – two nuclear powers – represents a crime of aggression and a serious attack against the UN Charter, Iran’s sovereignty, and regional and global peace,” MEPs Irene Montero and Isabel Serra warned. “They [the US] are doing this while maintaining a blockade on Cuba, starving people, continuing the genocide in Gaza, and threatening to invade Greenland.”
In the letter, Montero and Serra reiterated calls circulated by trade unions and left movements for severing ties with the US administration, exiting NATO and building a region focused on peace and respect of international law. “This crisis shows to what extent the EU is subordinated to NATO,” they pointed out, adding that US interests and strategies compromise Europe’s autonomy and “drag us into conflicts which do not correspond to the interests of the people of Europe.”
Similar calls were echoed by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and All-Workers’ Militant Front (PAME), who demanded the closure of US bases on Greek territory, warning their presence makes surrounding areas potential retaliation targets.
That these concerns are grounded was proven by damage sustained by two British air force bases on Cyprus, hit by drones after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced they would be used to back US-Israel attacks. “The bases on Cyprus are a destructive, dangerous anomaly that destabilises West Asia, puts Cyprus in the crosshairs of war, and are outposts for the violence of the Anglo-American empire,” CODEPINK stated after the attacks. “The bases must be shut down as a step towards peace in the region and in Cyprus.”
Starmer’s support for US-Israel operations have been criticized as a rerun of Tony Blair’s uncritical support for the 2003 war on Iraq. “By allowing US forces to use British bases to bomb Iran, Keir Starmer is echoing Tony Blair’s obedience to Washington – dragging Britain into yet another costly, catastrophic and illegal war,” Jeremy Corbyn wrote.
Trade unions similarly criticized government actions in Britain, reaffirming they “stand against all unlawful wars.”
“We fear that an attack on Iran will have devastating global consequences, from regional instability to surging oil prices that will hurt working people everywhere,” trade union leaders from over a dozen organizations warned.
“The US has bombarded and destroyed Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya,” Botenga emphasized in a statement by the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA). “In none of these countries, the attacks haven’t brought democracy or promoted human rights.”
“Europe’s failure to stand up for the basic principles of international law legitimizes a world order where power and violence rules supreme, endangering lives throughout the world,” added The Left in the European Parliament.
Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch
Since the first attacks on Iran, EU officials have overwhelmingly spoken of Iran’s response, stating they are following “developments” with “utmost concern” and considering new sanctions on the West Asian country. Shortly before a speech by President Emmanuel Macron glorifying the French (and European) nuclear “deterrent,” EU High Representative Kaja Kallas issued a statement saying that “the EU has consistently urged Iran to end Iran’s nuclear program.”
The hypocrisy of the EU narrative was not lost on Europe’s left parliamentarians. Addressing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, MEPs from the Spanish progressive party Podemos criticized the overall EU reaction. “The offensive carried out by the US and Israel – two nuclear powers – represents a crime of aggression and a serious attack against the UN Charter, Iran’s sovereignty, and regional and global peace,” MEPs Irene Montero and Isabel Serra warned. “They [the US] are doing this while maintaining a blockade on Cuba, starving people, continuing the genocide in Gaza, and threatening to invade Greenland.”
In the letter, Montero and Serra reiterated calls circulated by trade unions and left movements for severing ties with the US administration, exiting NATO and building a region focused on peace and respect of international law. “This crisis shows to what extent the EU is subordinated to NATO,” they pointed out, adding that US interests and strategies compromise Europe’s autonomy and “drag us into conflicts which do not correspond to the interests of the people of Europe.”
Similar calls were echoed by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and All-Workers’ Militant Front (PAME), who demanded the closure of US bases on Greek territory, warning their presence makes surrounding areas potential retaliation targets.
That these concerns are grounded was proven by damage sustained by two British air force bases on Cyprus, hit by drones after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced they would be used to back US-Israel attacks. “The bases on Cyprus are a destructive, dangerous anomaly that destabilises West Asia, puts Cyprus in the crosshairs of war, and are outposts for the violence of the Anglo-American empire,” CODEPINK stated after the attacks. “The bases must be shut down as a step towards peace in the region and in Cyprus.”
Starmer’s support for US-Israel operations have been criticized as a rerun of Tony Blair’s uncritical support for the 2003 war on Iraq. “By allowing US forces to use British bases to bomb Iran, Keir Starmer is echoing Tony Blair’s obedience to Washington – dragging Britain into yet another costly, catastrophic and illegal war,” Jeremy Corbyn wrote.
Trade unions similarly criticized government actions in Britain, reaffirming they “stand against all unlawful wars.”
“We fear that an attack on Iran will have devastating global consequences, from regional instability to surging oil prices that will hurt working people everywhere,” trade union leaders from over a dozen organizations warned.
“The US has bombarded and destroyed Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya,” Botenga emphasized in a statement by the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA). “In none of these countries, the attacks haven’t brought democracy or promoted human rights.”
“Europe’s failure to stand up for the basic principles of international law legitimizes a world order where power and violence rules supreme, endangering lives throughout the world,” added The Left in the European Parliament.
Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch
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