Opinion

AMB. GORDON SONDLAND: Europe can’t condemn Iran, then complain when Trump finally acts to stop it

Europe can't have it both ways when it comes to Iran

By Gordon Sondland Fox News

Published July 20, 2026 5:00am EDT | Updated July 20, 2026 6:15am EDT

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European leaders have spent years warning that Iran must never be permitted to acquire a nuclear weapon. They have condemned Tehran’s ballistic-missile program, its financing of terrorism, its use of proxy forces, its attacks on commercial shipping and its serial violations of international agreements.

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Yet when President Trump concluded that the threat required military action, much of Europe’s response focused not on Iran’s conduct, but on whether European capitals had been sufficiently consulted.

That complaint is difficult to take seriously.

European governments were not ignorant of the intelligence picture. Their intelligence services have followed Iran’s nuclear program, missile development, terrorist networks and regional proxies for decades. They have reviewed the same broad threat assessments, watched the same enrichment trends and issued many of the same warnings.

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They may not have possessed every piece of operational intelligence available to the president, but they understood the direction of travel. They knew the danger was growing. They also knew that, eventually, someone would have to act.

Europe’s preferred strategy was to play ostrich: acknowledge the threat, avoid the hard decision, wait for the U.S. to take the lead, and then feign surprise at the result.

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That arrangement is politically convenient. It allows European leaders to benefit from American power while distancing themselves from its use. Washington absorbs the military risk and political criticism. Europe preserves its diplomatic posture and complains about process.

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