The spokesman for the European External Action Service called on 12 March for restraint to defuse tensions in Iraq.
A message ignored by the Americans, who on the night of 12-13 bombed pro-Iranian militia positions in Iraq in retaliation for an attack on a coalition base in Iraq that left three people dead: two American soldiers and a British reservist.
Condemning the attack on the Taji military base on 11 March, the spokesman called on the Iraqi government, in a statement, to "exercise its full powers to hold perpetrators accountable. "The work of the Global Coalition needs to be preserved, in close cooperation with Iraqi forces", he added.
"Renewed escalation in Iraq and the region must be avoided at all costs", the spokesman said, calling for "restraint to defuse tensions". "Iraq's sovereignty and stability must be upheld", he warned.
Asked by EUROPE about its concerns following the US strikes, the European External Action Service reiterated that it had called, in its communiqué prior to the US action, for restraint and to avoid further escalation at all costs.
While British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab described the US response as "swift, decisive and proportionate", Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Moussavi gave the United States a warning. "Instead of making dangerous moves and baseless accusations, Mr Trump had better thoroughly reassess the presence and behaviour of his forces in the region", he said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)