EU officials told Middle East leaders on Monday that they are ready to help bring Iran back to the negotiating table and do what it can to de-escalate the war.
“The European Union is a long-standing, reliable partner for the region in these difficult moments,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa in a joint statement.
The bloc “is ready to contribute in every possible way to help de-escalate the situation and facilitate the return to the negotiating table,” they added, after speaking to leaders from Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Mr Costa and Ms von der Leyen reiterated the EU's condemnation of Iranian attacks against Gulf states while conveying their “solidarity with the people of the region”. They called again for a return to talks with Iran, saying they “firmly believe that dialogue and diplomacy is the only viable way forward”.
The UAE was represented by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed.
The joint statement comes days after the EU's foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, convened an online call with GCC representatives to express solidarity with the region.
'Mitigating' risks
More than one week after joint US and Israeli attacks on Iran, the Middle East conflict has continued to escalate, with Turkey saying on Monday that Nato air defences had shot down a ballistic missile launched from Iran.
Meanwhile, European nations are worried about volatile energy markets as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil export route, remains closed. France is working on setting up a defensive naval mission to reopen the Strait when the most intense part of the war is over, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.
“The leaders of the region shared their analysis of the situation in their countries and the broader region,” the joint statement said. “They also discussed the impact of attacks on energy infrastructure and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on global energy security, and explored avenues to strengthen the co-operation with Middle East partners to mitigate these risks.”
The narrow Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important oil transit chokepoints, carrying roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.
The EU is also reinforcing its naval mission, named Aspides, or “shields” in Greek, which was launched in 2023 to escort commercial ships through the Bab Al Mandeb straits.
Ms von der Leyen and Mr Costa also said that they had discussed with regional leaders Israel's attacks on Lebanon, which started on March 2 after the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah fired rockets at the country.
They “expressed deep concern about the impact of the regional crisis on Lebanon and its severe impact on civilians, triggering large-scale displacement”, the joint statement said. Lebanon was represented in the meeting by President Joseph Aoun.
Israel's air raids and incursion via Lebanon's southern border have killed close to 400 people and displaced half a million more. Ms von der Leyen announced that she had ordered the dispatching of humanitarian aid to Lebanon that could support 130,000 people.
