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LONDON -- European nations worked Monday to support diplomatic efforts to curb the Israel-Iran war live arsenic the 2 countries traded strikes pursuing the United States’ play attack connected Iran’s atomic program. Calls for Tehran to participate talks with Washington appeared to autumn connected deaf ears arsenic it reached retired to state Russia for support.
The situation topped the docket for European Union overseas ministers gathering successful Brussels, wherever diplomats agonized astir the imaginable for Iranian retaliation to spark a wider warfare and planetary economical instability.
“The concerns of retaliation and this warfare escalating are huge,” said the bloc’s overseas argumentation chief, Kaja Kallas.
Kallas said immoderate effort by Iran to adjacent the Strait of Hormuz, a cardinal way for planetary shipping, would beryllium “extremely unsafe and not bully for anybody.”
Along with the EU, the “E3” of Britain, France and Germany person led efforts to find a diplomatic solution, holding a tense seven-hour gathering successful Geneva connected Friday with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. A time aft those talks ended with a vague committedness to "meet again successful the future,” U.S. bombers struck 3 Iranian atomic and subject sites.
No further E3 talks with Iran are presently planned, a European diplomatic authoritative said connected information of anonymity to sermon the negotiations.
Still, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy urged Iran to conscionable the E3 again, and to unfastened negotiations with the United States. Planned U.S.-Iran talks successful Oman were scuttled aft Israel began attacking Iran’s atomic facilities connected June 13. Iran has since ruled retired negotiating portion it is nether attack.
“Take the off-ramp, dial this happening down and negociate with the United States instantly and seriously," said Lammy, who spoke to some Araghchi and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio connected Sunday.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Europe had a relation to play, but that “a existent precondition for a colony to the struggle is that Iran beryllium acceptable to negociate straight with the U.S.”
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters successful Brussels that helium was proposing a gathering betwixt the United States and Iran successful Rome.
It was Moscow that Iran reached retired to Monday, though, sending Araghchi to conscionable President Vladimir Putin astatine the Kremlin. Putin condemned the United States’ “unprovoked aggression” against Iran and said Russia would assistance the Iranian people.
Putin said helium saw the sojourn arsenic a accidental to research “how we tin get retired of today’s situation.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia had offered to mediate.
European diplomatic efforts were analyzable by a deficiency of foreknowledge of the Trump administration’s moves. Some countries had nary beforehand announcement of the strikes. Britain was notified, but lone soon earlier bombs fell.
Another hurdle was Trump’s station connected societal media precocious Sunday musing astir the imaginable for “regime change” successful Iran, contempt U.S. officials’ insistence that Washington is not seeking to alteration the authorities successful Tehran.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stressed Monday that “we cull each attempts to signifier a alteration of authorities by force.”
“It would beryllium illusory and unsafe to deliberation that specified a alteration tin beryllium provoked done unit and bombs,” helium said.
Iran insists its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes only, and U.S. quality agencies person assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb. However, Trump and Israeli leaders person argued that Iran could rapidly assemble a atomic weapon, making it an imminent threat.
The U.S. strikes person brought mixed emotions successful European capitals. Amid alarm astatine the imaginable for a wider warfare and calls for de-escalation, immoderate American allies expressed alleviation that Iran’s atomic programme had been acceptable back.
“We can’t unreal that the prevention of Iran getting atomic weapons isn’t a bully happening for this country. But we’re prioritizing diplomacy arsenic the mode forward,” said Tom Wells, a spokesperson for British person Starmer. “The premier minister’s precedence is getting parties backmost astir the array to negociate a lasting settlement.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose state is simply a peculiarly staunch state of Israel, said helium saw “no crushed to knock what Israel began a week ago, and besides nary crushed to knock what America did past weekend.”
He acknowledged “it is not without risk, but leaving things the mode they were was besides not an option.”
Merz said helium was “somewhat optimistic” that the struggle would not widen. He said Iran’s effect truthful acold has been acold abbreviated “of what we had to fear,” and that Iran’s determination proxies had shown “relatively little” absorption truthful far.
But helium cautioned that “it doesn’t person to enactment that way.”
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Joyner reported from Brussels. Associated Press writers Elise Morton successful London, Lorne Cook and Sam McNeil successful Brussels, John Leicester successful Paris, Geir Moulson successful Berlin and Stephanie Liechtenstein successful Vienna contributed.
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