EU's foreign policy chief says Iran is seeking to escalate conflict

ZURICH - Iran is seeking to escalate the conflict in the Middle East by attacking other countries  in the region indiscriminately, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday.

"Iran is an exporter of war," Kallas told reporters during a visit to Zurich. "Right now, the regime tries to drag as many countries into this war as possible."

"The war in the Middle East is rapidly widening," Kallas stated, pointing to Iran's missile and drone attacks on neighboring countries that had not initiated aggression against Tehran. 

She described these strikes as efforts to "sow chaos and set the region on fire by indiscriminately attacking its neighbours." 

This comes amid reports of Iranian missiles targeting a NATO country and an EU member state, including an intercepted projectile heading toward Turkey and strikes on a British base in Cyprus.

The conflict, which erupted following US and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets that reportedly killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has seen retaliatory actions from Iran against US bases in the Gulf, Israel, and several Arab states. Kallas expressed widespread concern over the expansion of hostilities beyond the Middle East, warning that such escalation could have unpredictable consequences for global security and economies.

European leaders have been united in calling for de-escalation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned Iran's strikes and urged urgent measures to prevent the conflict from spreading further. In a joint statement with European Council President António Costa, von der Leyen emphasized the need for maximum restraint and the protection of nuclear safety to avoid undermining global non-proliferation efforts.

Kallas also stressed the importance of not diverting attention from other global crises, such as the war in Ukraine, noting parallels in the weaponry used by Iran and Russia. "As the world focuses on the war in the Middle East, we cannot let Ukraine slip off the agenda. Moscow may have lost another ally in Tehran, but the same drones that are hitting Dubai are also hitting Kyiv," she remarked.

The EU has been actively engaging with regional partners to explore diplomatic paths forward. Kallas mentioned ongoing coordination with Israeli and Arab officials to pursue negotiated solutions, while condemning Iran's ballistic missile programs and support for proxy groups as threats to international security. 

However, some divergence within the EU is evident, with von der Leyen advocating for a "credible transition" in Iran, hinting at support for regime change, which contrasts with calls from other ministers for a return to negotiations without explicit endorsement of such shifts.