Britain, France and Germany take defensive measures against Iran

Brussels – The leaders of the E3 group – Britain, France and Germany – on Sunday (1 March) declared their readiness to take “the necessary and proportionate defensive measures” to protect their interests and allies in the Middle East, following what they described as indiscriminate Iranian missile attacks in the region.

In a joint statement, the three countries’ leaders stated that Iran’s “reckless attack” endangered military personnel and civilians.

“We call upon Iran to immediately cease these reckless attacks. We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, including through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to launch missiles and drones from their source,” the statement read.

The leaders also stated they had agreed to work closely with the United States and regional allies to address the situation.

Regional tensions escalated on Saturday (28 February) after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran that killed several senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Tehran responded by launching a series of drone and missile attacks targeting Israel, US assets and several Gulf states.