The European Council has called for a “moratorium” on strikes on energy and water facilities in the Middle East as mutual attacks by Israel and Iran continue to affect oil markets in the conflict.
“Developments in Iran and the wider region threaten regional and global security,” the Council said in a 19 March statement.
The comments came after a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels to discuss the US-Israel war against Iran and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Tehran launched attacks on gas and oil facilities of US allies in the Persian Gulf in response to US-Israeli strikes against Iran that began on 28 February and have killed many of the regime’s leaders and destroyed much of its military capabilities.
After Israel struck Iran’s major South Pars gas field on 18 March, Tehran promised a response and attacked energy facilities in the Persian Gulf, particularly Qatar’s main gas hub, Ras Laffan.
QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi said Tehran’s attacks had knocked out 17 per cent of the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity and resulted in a loss of around $20 billion in annual revenue.
The European Council called for “de-escalation and maximum restraint, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and full respect for international law by all parties, including the principles of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law.”
The statement added that the EU “strongly condemns Iran’s indiscriminate strikes against countries in the region and expresses its solidarity with the affected states.”
“The Council calls on Iran and its proxy forces to immediately cease these attacks and to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries of the region,” the statement said.
Amid US President Donald Trump’s calls for countries using the Strait of Hormuz to help protect shipping there, the EU statement said it “condemns any action that threatens navigation or prevents ships from entering and leaving” this important waterway.
But the EU did not reveal any specific plans to join the potential coalition that Trump is building, saying instead that it is calling for a strengthening of the EU’s naval defence operations Aspides and Atalanta.
These are EU military operations aimed at protecting freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and monitoring and reporting on “shadow fleets” in the Gulf region.
The statement said European leaders welcomed “strengthening the efforts announced by member states, in particular by enhancing coordination with partners in the region, to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz as soon as conditions are met”.
Earlier, the US’ European allies as well as Japan expressed willingness to join in securing passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The statement did not outline specific parameters for the contributions of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan, the country that supplies most of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz.