France, the UK, and Germany issued a joint statement on Monday condemning Iranian attacks on Gulf and regional countries. The statement contains no reference to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran — the campaign that began on 27 February with more than 2,000 munitions across 24 of Iran's 31 provinces and has killed, by Iranian government accounts, hundreds of civilians including the reported 180 children at Minab's Shajareh Tayyebeh school.
The E3 position extends the logic UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer established on 1 March when he authorised British bases for "defensive" operations while refusing to join "offensive" action. Condemning Iran's retaliatory fire while staying silent on the strikes that provoked it treats the war's consequences as the problem and its causes as beyond comment. Spain had already refused this framing, describing the US-Israeli operation as contributing to "a more uncertain and hostile international order". The E3's unanimity is itself unusual — during the 2003 Iraq invasion, France and Germany opposed military action while Britain joined it. Here all three are aligned, but in a posture that offers diplomatic cover to Washington without endorsing its campaign.
For The Gulf states absorbing Iranian fire, the statement's selectivity has material consequences. Qatar shot down two Iranian Su-24 aircraft on Monday while officially maintaining non-belligerent status. Saudi Arabia's capital was struck by drones hours before the E3 statement was issued. The UAE has closed its Tehran embassy and absorbed missile fire that killed three people and injured 58. None of these states had a vote in this war starting. The E3 offers them condemnation of the fire they are taking but no diplomatic pressure on the campaign that drew it.
The position's durability depends on what happens at Minab. The death toll has climbed from 148 to 165 to 180 in 72 hours, consistent with rescue teams reaching deeper into rubble. No independent forensic investigation has been conducted or permitted. If a verified final count confirms the scale — and if attribution to a US Tomahawk missile, as The New York Times, CNN, and Time investigations suggest, is established — condemning Iranian retaliation while staying silent on the killing of 180 schoolgirls will face domestic political challenge in all three E3 capitals.
