Kallas Says Iranian Capacity To Target Gulf States 'Unsustainable'

WARSAW -- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says she doubts Iran's capacity to sustain its pace of attacks on countries across the Middle East given its decimated military following the 12-day war last year with Israel and the current US-Israeli campaign launched against it over the weekend.

"We have to understand that the Iranian capacities are not endless, especially if also the big friends are not supporting them," she told RFE/RL in an interview conducted in Warsaw on March 4.

"Americans have also said that their target is the missile launchers and missile factories, then their capacity to cause harm is also and maybe more limited than they want to show. So this is always also a fight for narratives."

Expanding on the answer about Tehran's allies, the former Estonian prime minister was quick to point out that Russia, which has long been seen as a key ally of Tehran, hasn't rushed to aid the Islamic regime.

Kallas on Ukraine-Russia

"What we have to see is that when Iran is fighting, they are fighting alone with their proxies. Russia is not supporting them," Kallas added.

US President Donald Trump said on March 3 that Iran "is going to be in for a lot of hurt" in the coming days, adding that "the big-scale hitting goes now."

Operation Epic Fury, as the mission is called by US military officials, represents the largest US buildup in the Middle East in a generation with over 50,000 US troops and 200 fighter aircraft. According to the US military, 17 Iranian naval vessels have been destroyed and nearly 2,000 targets across Iran hit in the last four days alone.

Kallas on conflict spillover

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has estimated that nearly 1,100 Iranian civilians, including 181 children, have been killed in the air strikes.

In response, Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at US military bases and key commercial sites in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar -- all American allies -- since the conflict broke out.

The European Union, meanwhile, has struggled to keep a unified position on the war. The E3 -- France, Germany, and the United Kingdom -- have indicated they might assist the United States militarily if necessary, while Spain has questioned the legality of the strikes on Iran.

When asked about what outcome the EU sees after the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the air strikes, the EU top diplomat was cautiously optimistic that things eventually could improve for the country.

Kallas on Khamenei's death

"Now the question is, of course, what comes next? Is it possible that there's going to be a democratic Iran? I mean, not necessarily immediately, but still there's opportunities for the people if the repressive regime is weakened," she said.

With the EU's foreign ministers set for an online meeting with their counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council on March 5, Brussels is likely to have to grapple with more immediate challenges to the bloc such as already soaring energy prices and potential waves of refugees.

"There are threats to disruption of supply chains and trade routes, there are also risks for migration pressure that is coming toward us because people will want to flee war. These are all the risks that we have to really take into account," Kallas said.

Kallas on the possible refugee wave