EU chief avoids condemning US-Israeli war on Iran

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has failed to condemn the US-Israeli war on Iran, saying “there should be no tears shed for” Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the initial strikes.

Speaking at an annual conference of EU ambassadors on Monday, von der Leyen brushed aside debate over whether the attack on Iran “is a war of choice or necessity,” portraying it instead as opening “a path towards a free Iran.”

“I believe this debate misses the point,” she said. “I want to be clear: there should be no tears shed for the Iranian regime. This regime has inflicted death and imposes repression on its own people.”

The EU has faced criticism for failing to issue a unified statement for nearly 48 hours after the initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Public outrage centered on a post in which von der Leyen said she would convene an emergency security meeting on Iran two days later, prompting widespread mockery of what users described as the EU’s bureaucratic inertia and geopolitical incompetence. She has also drawn criticism for calling Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel and US bases “unjustified” while refraining from condemning the initial US-Israeli attacks.

In recent days, critics have accused von der Leyen of diplomatic overreach after a flurry of posts about the Iran war – including signals of support for regime change in Tehran – and multiple calls with Gulf leaders. According to a Politico report on Monday, diplomats, EU officials, and lawmakers have criticized what they see as her attempt to position herself as the EU’s chief voice abroad despite lacking a mandate, amid what is widely believed to be a behind-the-scenes power struggle with the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas.

In her speech on Monday, rather than focusing on the conflict itself, von der Leyen used the escalation to question the West’s so-called “rules-based” international order and argue for a shift in the EU’s security posture.