Senior officials in Israel Monday sharply criticized European countries over their response to the joint Israeli-American offensive against Iran, accusing them of policies toward Tehran over many years that are now “blowing up in the entire region’s face” without prompting any self-examination.
“Not only has Europe failed to mobilize to help keep shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz open, it has also not helped defend Persian Gulf states from Iranian attacks. This is without a doubt Europe’s ugliest hour,” an Israeli official said.
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German PM Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanunel Macron, British PM Keir Starmer
(Photos: Sean Gallup/Getty Images; Christophe Petit Tesson/POOL/AFP;Toby Melville, Pool via AP)
One Israeli official said Europe is entirely focused on the war between Russia and Ukraine and is trying to direct most international attention there, including through investment in budgets and weapons.
“The Europeans are also very angry that Trump intends to ease sanctions on Russia in order to curb rising oil prices, and they see this as abandoning Ukraine and courting Putin,” he said.
Another Israeli official said that "the current campaign is indeed exposing most European countries in all their hypocrisy and ugliness, aside from a few righteous individuals in Sodom, such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who publicly said that Israel is doing the dirty work for everyone.”
Does Europe understand the danger posed by the regime in Tehran?
“Europe absolutely understands the danger posed by the ayatollahs’ regime, but it is not prepared to do anything except use diplomacy. Talk without a military option does not deter anyone, and unfortunately there is no self-examination in Europe regarding the severity of the threat.”
Is Europe assisting the United States and Israel behind the scenes?
“Behind the scenes they are doing very little — for example, some limited assistance by the British intelligence agency MI6 to the Mossad and the CIA.”
The Israeli officials directed particular criticism at Britain and France for not assisting the Americans. Britain even refused to allow American aircraft to launch attacks in the war against Iran from the "Bomber Island" Diego Garcia — a strategic island in the Indian Ocean belonging to Britain and hosting a joint British-American air base.
“The Europeans — Germany, France and Britain — pushed the United States to sign the nuclear deal that dealt only with the nuclear issue and ignored ballistic missiles and terrorism,” a senior Israeli official said. “That is what allowed Iran to lead the world by the nose and advance its nuclear and missile programs. France and Britain have turned out to be doormats, including on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz — you don’t see Europe mobilizing to defend it. Instead of seeing this as a historic opportunity to loosen Iran’s grip, they are only worried about rising energy prices. France sent an aircraft carrier to the Strait of Hormuz and Britain sent a minesweeper, but that’s it. It’s a very weak response. When Iran fires at Cyprus, a country that belongs to the European Union, Europe does nothing, and it also is not helping Israel in any way. It provides humanitarian aid to Lebanese residents fleeing the Dahiyeh, and gives us nothing.”
According to the officials, Europe is deeply concerned that the war with Iran could spill into its own backyard.
“They are talking about sleeper cells that received instructions from Iran to carry out attacks. The only country that has increased security around the Israeli embassy and Jewish institutions is Germany — with the Germans the response is unequivocal,” one of the officials said.
In the view of the Israeli officials, European countries should have mobilized not only to defend shipping routes but also to help countries such as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates intercept attacks.
“They have revealed themselves to be weak countries. This is something that will not be forgotten,” he said.
First published: 17:47, 03.16.26