EU’s Costa condemned Trump’s Iran threats because of Russia parallels

BRUSSELS — António Costa delivered the EU’s strongest condemnation of Donald Trump’s threats against Iran because leaders think they can’t condemn alleged Russian war crimes while remaining silent on comparable U.S. action, according to four diplomats with knowledge of internal discussions.

Costa, representing the EU’s 27 leaders as European Council president, told Trump on Monday that “any targeting of civilian infrastructure, namely energy facilities, is illegal and unacceptable.” He said those standards applied to “Russia’s war in Ukraine, and it applies everywhere.”

Like most EU leaders, Costa issued no public response 24 hours later, however, when Trump warned “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” The U.S. president suggested strikes would hit bridges, desalination plants and energy targets — that could include civilian infrastructure that, if attacked deliberately, could constitute a war crime.

European governments, continually wrestling with the best way to deal with an American president who often sees them as a target for ridicule rather than as a natural ally, have pushed the EU to speak with one voice, and to ensure it holds Trump to the same standard as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“There is unease among most, if not all, EU countries,” said one diplomat, granted anonymity to speak frankly, adding there is a need to avoid applying a “double standard.” Governments “will say you always preach stability, the rule of law, the multilateral world order, for four years we have been hearing you decry Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure.”

The new round of fiery rhetoric, in which the American leader vowed action unless Tehran reopened the strategic Strait of Hormuz, drew parallels with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the diplomats said. Moscow has constantly targeted civilian infrastructure — a tactic repeatedly condemned by Brussels.

Costa, a Portuguese socialist, has strengthened relationships across the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia since he became European Council president in 2024. He chaired a summit of the EU’s 27 leaders in March to discuss the crisis.

They collectively agreed on a call for “de-escalation and maximum restraint, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure and full respect of international law by all parties” and “a moratorium on strikes against energy and water facilities.”

Costa’s statement on Monday came from the “clear mandate” given by presidents and prime ministers at that meeting, according to a senior EU official. “But it’s also him as a politician choosing his words and the timing” to hammer home his conviction that “international law applies to everyone” — a position he sees as “in Europe’s self-interest.”

While the position reflects a growing consensus among EU member countries, a second diplomat added, there has been little discussion of what to do if the bloc’s red lines are crossed.

“If you’ve already said this is illegal and unacceptable, and then it happens, the question is, then what?” said the diplomat.