EU chief blames Iran for conflict, but says she told Netanyahu diplomacy ‘best solution’
Von der Leyen tells PM ‘without any question’ Iran shouldn’t have nuclear weapons, notes ‘same type of Iranian drones, ballistic missiles are indiscriminately hitting cities in Ukraine, Israel’
KANANASKIS, Canada — European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that diplomacy was ultimately best on Iran, but stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Von der Leyen said that she agreed with Netanyahu in a telephone call that “Iran should not have a nuclear weapon, without any question.”
“Of course I think a negotiated solution is, in the long term, the best solution,” she said at a press briefing at a Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Canada.
Israel launched a surprise and massive military attack on Friday on Iran, targeting nuclear and military sites and military leaders, as well as weapons storage and production sites. Iran has responded with barrages of missiles and drones at Israel, most of which have been thwarted by air defense system, though some missiles have slipped through, hitting cities and causing deaths, injuries and destruction.
Von der Leyen — who has been critical of Israel over its offensive in Gaza — placed the blame for the new conflict on Iran, pointing to the UN nuclear watchdog’s finding earlier in the week that Tehran was not in compliance with its obligations.
“In this context, Israel has the right to defend itself. Iran is the principal source of regional instability,” von der Leyen said.
She said that the G7 summit should discuss the Iran crisis alongside Ukraine, which has been hit by drones sold to Russia by Tehran’s cleric-run state.
“The same type of Iranian-designed and -made drones and ballistic missiles are indiscriminately hitting cities in Ukraine and in Israel. As such, these threats need to be addressed together,” she said.
European Council chief Antonio Costa, speaking alongside her, said it was “time to give space for diplomacy” and to “give opportunity to decrease the escalation between Israel and Iran.”
Iranian attacks in the early hours of Monday killed at least five people and injured dozens as missiles slammed into Israeli cities. Another 16 people were killed and over 200 were injured in other weekend attacks. Iran says Israeli strikes have killed 224 people since Friday, including top military commanders, and wounded more than 320. The Iranian figures cannot be verified and do not differentiate between civilians and those targeted by Israel for their roles in Tehran’s military and nuclear apparatus.
Iran, in response to the UN watchdog findings, said it would ramp up output of enriched uranium, although not to levels used to make nuclear weapons.
Israel says it launched strikes on Iran because its nuclear program posed an immediate and existential threat.
Iran’s leaders, who are sworn to destroy Israel, have publicly denied seeking nuclear weapons, but have stocked up on 60%-enriched uranium — far above what is necessary for civilian uses, and a short step away from weapons-grade.
Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons but does not publicly acknowledge them.
Gaza aid boost
Von der Leyen said that during her call with Netanyahu, the Israeli leader promised to boost aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip.
“I insisted and urged that humanitarian aid that is not reaching Gaza has to go into Gaza. He promised that this is the case and that this will be the case,” she told reporters.
Von der Leyen said she would follow up on the promise after the three-day summit.
She said she will seek to find out on humanitarian aid “how it reaches Gaza, whether it gets into Gaza, what we can do to make sure that humanitarian aid reaches its peak in Gaza.”
A year and a half of war has left the Gaza Strip in a deep humanitarian crisis. War erupted on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led a devastating invasion of southern Israel in which the attackers killed 1,200 people, and abducted 251 as hostages to Gaza.
Israel responded with a military campaign to destroy Hamas, topple its regime, and free the hostages, of whom 52 remain in captivity. They include the bodies of at least 31 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said.
In March, after a truce of several weeks collapsed when Netanyahu largely refused to continue negotiations, Israel stopped aid deliveries, aiming to pressure Hamas into reaching a ceasefire. Israel says that Hamas diverts aid deliveries for its own forces, denying the Gaza population supplies.
At the end of May, a new organization, the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began distributing food packages in Gaza, overseeing a new model of aid distribution that the United Nations and major aid groups say violates basic humanitarian principles.
The Times of Israel Community.