European leaders Merz (Germany) and von der Leyen (Commission President) are explicitly saying that international law is not a useful framework to understand the Iran war, which is shocking coming from European leaders, and this reflects the increasing injection of nationalist far-right ideas into center-right politics.
factualpending
Speaker
Natalie TocciEvidence Quote
“both the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as well as Commission President von der Leyen being really rather explicit in saying, 'Well, kind of international law is not a useful framework to understand this war.'”
Source
Nathalie Tocci and Matthias Matthijs: Are Europe and the United States Finally Heading For Divorce?— Foreign AffairsCreated: 8/12/2026, 6:08:35 PM
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