Europe divided and on edge as US-Israeli attacks on Iran ripple across the continent

SCMP | March 2, 2026, 2:10 p.m. | Original

The gate of the British Royal Air Force air base after it was struck by a drone earlier in the morning near Limassol, Cyprus, on Monday. Photo: AP

in Brussels and in Paris

The simmering war in the Middle East fractured Europe on Monday, as allies clashed, tempers flared and the shock waves from the US and Israeli bombing of Iran threatened to reverberate through the continent.

The crisis exposed a familiar European fault line: while leaders insist they are the last guardians of the rules-based international order, they remain split over how to respond when allies bend or break those rules.

With oil price spikes threatening to compound the European economic malaise, EU member state Cyprus was attacked by a retaliatory Iranian drone strike, with British military bases on the island thought to be the target, underscoring how directly exposed Europe is to the fallout.

A cacophony of voices responded – some calling for restraint, others for regime change, while more still squabbled over who should actually be speaking on behalf of the EU, showing how European micro-politics can eclipse even the most seismic global crises.

At a spiky press conference in Brussels on Monday, EU spokespeople were unable or unwilling to clarify whether the strikes – conducted without consulting the UN Security Council or the US Congress – were legal under international law, even as they urged all parties to play by the rules.

Nor could they clarify whether European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – who has no strict authority on foreign policy – was calling for regime change, and under whose authority, when she said the attacks showed “why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed”.

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