In their responses to the war in Iran, many European leaders appear concerned to adjust to the unabashed international power politics unleashed by President Donald Trump. But their apparent discarding of the principle of non-aggression may only store up trouble for the future.

As America and Israel launched their war of choice, not only was Europe sidelined but its leaders’ responses have proved confused and divided. They have largely declined to make clear that the UN Charter’s rules on the use of force still provide an essential foundation for international peace and security—a fundamental question raised by the military campaign.

European differences over policy towards Israel are nothing new. But, in this case, the divergences and ambiguities in the positions of European leaders seem to reveal a more profound uncertainty. They testify to a loss of faith in a principle of international order that Europeans have traditionally seen as fundamental. And this has come at precisely the moment when the likely harms to European interests of an unnecessary war are most obvious.

There is little question that the US and Israeli war against Iran is an unlawful act of aggression. The UN Charter prohibits the use of force except when authorised by the Security Council or in cases of self-defence against an armed attack. There is overwhelming agreementamong legal scholars that neither of those applies in this case. No European leader has argued the war is lawful, and the implausibility of Trump’s statements about the risk of imminent attack by Iran suggest he launched it as a response to Iranian defiance rather than any immediate threat. But many European statements have glossed over American and Israeli responsibility for a prohibited use of force. The statement issued by high representative Kaja Kallas on behalf of the EU’s member states called for “full respect of international law,........

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