Ahead of this Friday’s emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers, GUE/NGL MEPs are calling on EU governments to work for de-escalation of the situation, to respect the Iraqi parliament’s decision to withdraw all foreign troops and to reject the use of bases in Europe in any further military engagement in the Middle East.

We condemn the dangerous escalation between the US and Iran as well as the imposition of new sanctions. The attacks breach international law and constitute an act of war and a gross violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, threatening catastrophic consequences for people in the region.

The West’s interventionism in the Middle East has sowed chaos, tremendous human suffering, a refugee crisis, and made the world a more dangerous place.

The EU bears a responsibility for the current situation through its material support for reckless US military interventions and its active participation and arming of governments and non-state actors in several countries. EU member states must therefore stop all arms exports to the region and strongly condemn US belligerence.

We call on the EU and member states to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation by vocally opposing violence between the US and Iran, invoking respect for international law, and supporting condemnation at the UN.

The EU should take urgent actions to protect the people in the region by engaging in diplomacy, dialogue and negotiations.