Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 5, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says Gulf states fear a potential civil war in Iran amid the broader Iran–US–Israel conflict, urging diplomatic solutions and reinforcing maritime security to prevent escalation.
BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - Countries in the Middle East have told European officials they are concerned about the risk of civil war in Iran as a result of the conflict between Tehran and the United States and Israel, EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday.
"When we talk to the countries in the region, they are also worried about civil wars inside Iran because of the regime's leadership and what is going on there," she said ahead of a video conference with EU foreign ministers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council on the situation in Iran and the broader Middle East.
The EU wants to push forward a diplomatic solution. "Wars really end in diplomacy and there has to be room for diplomacy here to really get out of this cycle of escalation," she told reporters.
The EU is "extremely worried" about maritime security in the region and that it is trying to keep routes such as the strait of Hormuz open, she said although, since the EU was not dependent on oil from Gulf states, the attacks there did not have a large short-term impact on the security of the supply of oil to the EU.
The conflict has also escalated a dispute between the United States and Spain, with Washington threatening to cut trade with Madrid over Spain's refusal to allow U.S. aircraft to use jointly operated naval and air bases in southern Spain for the offensive against Tehran.
Spain has denounced the U.S. and Israeli bombings of Iran as reckless and illegal. The White House said on Wednesday Spain agreed to cooperate, but Madrid has denied this.
Asked about the spat, Kallas said she hoped Washington would respect the trade agreement reached last year that applies to all EU member states.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Lili Bayer; Writing by Makini Brice, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout)
Gulf nations fear that ongoing conflict between Iran, the US, and Israel could escalate into a civil war within Iran, destabilizing the region.
The EU favors a diplomatic solution to end the cycle of escalation and is encouraging negotiations between all involved parties.
The EU is concerned about threats to maritime security, especially in the Strait of Hormuz, but says it is not currently affecting EU oil supplies.
The US threatened to cut trade with Spain after Spain refused to allow US aircraft to use bases for operations against Tehran, though Spain denies cooperating.
The EU states that, currently, its oil supplies are not significantly impacted since it is less dependent on Gulf states for oil.
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