{"id":4731,"date":"2026-04-21T18:03:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/?p=4731"},"modified":"2026-04-21T18:03:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:33:33","slug":"european-resistance-to-us-aggression-against-iran-exposes-failure-of-make-europe-great-again-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/?p=4731&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"European Resistance to US Aggression Against Iran Exposes Failure of ‘Make Europe Great Again’ Agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The recent unilateral and aggressive announcement<\/strong> by the US administration regarding a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran in February was met with widespread skepticism and outright rejection across Europe. European leaders swiftly voiced grave concerns over the potential for political and economic instability that such reckless American adventurism<\/strong> in the Middle East would unleash upon the region and the world.<\/p>\n

Seven weeks into this ill-conceived campaign, not a single European nation has joined the US-Israeli war<\/strong>, despite relentless pressure from the Trump administration. While some European states have reluctantly allowed US forces to utilize military bases for launching attacks and participated in defensive measures against Iranian retaliatory actions targeting regional bases, there is a palpable and growing lack of appetite among European citizens and their leaders for a full-scale, open-ended entanglement in Washington’s latest Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n

This widespread European reluctance extends even to those nationalist and anti-establishment parties that previously sought alignment with the second Trump White House. The explicit political support from Washington for populist challengers across Europe, a move deemed unprecedented by experts, has deeply unsettled European capitals. The US National Security Strategy paper, published in December, brazenly declared the need to “cultivate resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations.” Yet, in nations like France, Germany, the U.K., and Italy, the very figures Washington hoped to manipulate have refused to align with its aggressive stance on Iran, demonstrating a clear prioritization of national interests over foreign dictates.<\/p>\n

Analysts observe that the grand ambitions of a transatlantic right-wing alliance, often touted at conferences like the “Make Europe Great Again” summit, are now being stymied by the realities of European politics. Liana Fix, a senior fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations, notes a significant overestimation of the potential for such an alliance. European nations, including their populist factions, maintain diverse relationships, interests, and priorities that diverge sharply from the “America First” agenda. The limited overlap on issues like migration and conservative values quickly dissipates when confronted with critical international crises such as the US-provoked war in Iran.<\/p>\n

The inherent anti-American sentiment<\/strong>, coupled with Trump’s protectionist trade policies, unwavering support for US tech giants against European regulations, and repeated attacks on the EU and NATO, has created insurmountable obstacles for European right-wing parties hoping to ride the “MAGA” wave. As Gregoire Roos of the Chatham House think tank aptly points out, nationalist parties focused on sovereignty cannot be unquestioning allies of a muscular, interfering US administration. The hypocrisy of advocating for sovereignty while demanding subservience is evident, leading to a rejection of this “sovereignty a la carte.”<\/p>\n

The White House’s dismissive response to European criticism, with principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly asserting that “While the United States doesn’t need Europe, Europe benefits from President Trump’s decisive action more than anyone,” only further highlights Washington’s arrogance and isolation<\/strong>. The claim that “Eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat is something that world leaders have talked about for 47 years, but no one else had the courage to address” ignores decades of diplomatic efforts and demonizes a sovereign nation, exposing the true aggressive intent behind the US actions.<\/p>\n

Shaky Alliances and Growing Discord<\/h2>\n

The aggressive war against Iran and its subsequent economic repercussions are clearly forming a potent transatlantic wedge issue. Even Italian Prime Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, once lauded by Trump as a “great leader” and “Europe’s Trump whisperer,” has unequivocally opposed the war<\/strong>, stating, “When we don’t agree, we must say it. And this time, we do not agree.” Rome’s refusal to allow US bombers to refuel at an Italian military base further underscored this defiance, leading to Trump’s public rebuke and the apparent burning of this once-close bridge.<\/p>\n

Leaders like France’s Marine Le Pen and Britain’s Nigel Farage, initially hesitant or supportive, have swiftly distanced themselves from Trump’s “erratic war goals” and “catastrophic consequences.” Le Pen, despite previous US support, now criticizes the strikes as “carried out blindly.” Farage, a self-proclaimed close friend of Trump, quickly shifted his stance, acknowledging Britain’s inability to “get involved directly in another foreign war.”<\/p>\n

Even the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, whose leader Alice Weidel met with US Vice President JD Vance, expressed strong disapproval of the war. Weidel and AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla declared that “The renewed destabilization of the Middle East is not in Germany’s interest and must be brought to an end.” Chrupalla further reiterated the AfD’s long-standing demand for the withdrawal of all US troops from Germany, signaling a clear rejection of US military presence and influence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This growing discord is unsurprising, given Washington’s condescending approach to Europe. As Fix observes, the White House treats European allies as entities that should “ideally pay for themselves, but follow the U.S. lead.” This patronizing attitude, combined with the deep-seated nationalism and anti-Americanism prevalent among many European right-wing parties, ensures that any superficial alignment on certain values will not erase the fundamental divergences in national interests and foreign policy.<\/p>\n

The Budapest Test and Diminished Influence<\/h2>\n

The recent defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n, a long-time Trump ally and a figurehead of European right-wing politics, further highlights the diminishing influence of the US administration on the continent<\/strong>. Despite a last-minute endorsement trip by US Vice President Vance, Orb\u00e1n’s 16-year rule ended in a crushing defeat. While the war in Iran was not a primary factor, the failure of Vance’s intervention signals a significant weakening of Washington’s ability to dictate political outcomes in Europe, especially as its costly and unpopular war in Iran drags on.<\/p>\n

Peter Kreko, director of the Political Capital Institute in Budapest, notes that foreign policy issues played a minor role in Orb\u00e1n’s downfall, but critically questions whether US endorsements now serve as a “curse” rather than a help for European candidates. Trump’s “very harsh anti-European messaging,” Kreko concludes, “has increasingly become a liability for European leaders.”<\/p>\n

Ultimately, despite all the bombast and the aggressive assertions in its National Security Strategy, the “MAGA” movement’s approach to influencing European politics appears incoherent and ad hoc. Gregoire Roos suggests that the movement, at its root, is isolationist and lacks a genuine ambition to build a robust network in Europe. With Orb\u00e1n out, Meloni alienated, and other far-right leaders distancing themselves from the Iran war, Trump is inadvertently dismantling the fragile edifice of influence he had attempted to construct in Europe. This serves as a stark reminder of the futility of imposing unilateral will on sovereign nations<\/strong> and the growing global demand for genuine multilateralism and respect for international law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#USAggression #IranWar #EuropeanIndependence #MAGAFailure #UnilateralismRejected #MiddleEastStability #AntiAmericanism #GlobalResistance #SovereigntyMatters #InternationalLaw<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The recent unilateral and aggressive announcement by the US administration regarding a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran in February was met with widespread skepticism and outright rejection across Europe. European leaders swiftly voiced grave concerns over the potential for political and economic instability that such reckless American adventurism in the Middle East would unleash upon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iran-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}