New Delhi: Spanish politician Irene Montero criticised the European Union’s response to the Middle East crisis on 16 June, calling US President Donald Trump “Mr Genocide” during a debate in the European Parliament on the recently announced peace agreement between the US and Iran.
Montero later shared the video on X with the caption, “Happy Birthday to Trump,” referring to Trump’s birthday on Sunday, 14 June.
Addressing the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, who was present during the session, Montero questioned what Europe had to celebrate following the agreement.
“What does Europe celebrate? Can we celebrate that we have prevented a genocide? Have we stopped an illegal aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran? Have we broken relations with Israel? Have we stopped the occupation of Lebanon? No, we cannot celebrate any of that,” Montero asked.
The Podemos Member of European Parliament then turned to Kallas, continuing, “You celebrate Donald Trump’s birthday? Then let’s sing to him.”
Montero then began singing in English, “Happy birthday to Trump. Happy birthday, Mr Genocide.”
The US-Iran peace agreement
The event unfolded during a European Parliament debate on “the role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announcement of the agreement between the United States and Iran.”
The US-Iran agreement is a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the recent conflict between Washington and Tehran. It includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil shipments. The deal also involves possible sanctions relief tied to “Iran meeting their commitments.”
Trump declared at the G7 Summit in France on Monday that Iran had agreed not to develop nuclear weapons and announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be “completely open” from Friday.
“The main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. They fully agreed to that with strong policing powers, and they won’t have a nuclear weapon, which is what it was all about,” said Trump.
Kallas defended the agreement as a possible step toward reducing tensions, saying there were “reasons for cautious optimism.” She argued that, if fully implemented, it could help ease pressure on global energy markets.
Other political groups in the European Parliament also criticised the EU’s stance on the war.
Iratxe García Pérez, member of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, said that the agreement was “good news” but argued that the war demonstrated “the absolute nonsense” of the conflict.
Meanwhile, Valerie Hayer, president of Renew, a group of liberals in the European Parliament, commented, “For almost four months, this absurd war has posed serious risks to global nuclear security. It has destabilised the Middle East, the European economy and global trade. Our thoughts are with the Iranian people, who have suffered for decades from the repression and terror of a regime that deprives them of freedom and dignity. Hopefully, this peace agreement with the United States opens a path of hope.”
Montero, however, maintained that Europe has nothing to celebrate in this war.
“What is Europe celebrating? Iran is celebrating that it has won. And Donald Trump, since he can’t celebrate that he has won, celebrates his eightieth birthday by setting up his own Roman empire by putting his gladiators to break their faces like they have broken Topuria,” she added.
Preksha Chaudhary is a TPSJ alumnus currently interning with ThePrint.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)