“We have been returning fire since 5:45 a.m.” It was with this infamous statement that Adolf Hitler justified the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Hitler’s SS had previously staged a fake Polish attack on the Gleiwitz radio station in Silesia in order to portray the Wehrmacht’s offensive as an act of self-defence.

In reality, the Germans did not return fire. They launched a meticulously planned campaign of extermination, in the course of which 6 million Poles, 28 million Soviet citizens and tens of millions more people met their deaths. This orgy of destruction culminated in the systematic murder of 6 million Jews.

The “G7 Statement in Support of Partners in the Middle East,” adopted on March 22 by the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union and the US, is reminiscent of Hitler’s crude lies. It marks the European imperialist powers’ final departure from international law in favour of the principle that “might makes right.”

The statement proves that it is not only the US under Trump that is pursuing a policy of unrestrained imperialist violence, but also Germany, France, Italy, Britain, Canada and Japan. They invoke international law only when Trump, as in Greenland, infringes upon their own interests, or when they use it to justify the war against Russia in Ukraine.

Three weeks after the US-Israeli attack on Iran—following the bombing of 8,000 targets, the killing of at least 1,300 civilians, the targeted assassination of the country’s leadership and threats to bomb the entire country back to the Middle Ages—the G7 has adopted a statement that declares the victim to be the aggressor.

They condemn the “unjustifiable attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies” and demand “the immediate and unconditional cessation of all attacks by the Iranian regime”—but not the attacks by the US and Israel, which are not mentioned at all in the statement.

The foreign ministers expressly support the US’ war aims and propaganda:

The G7 has repeatedly stated that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons and must halt its ballistic missile programme, cease its destabilising activities in the region and globally, and stop the appalling violence against its own people and their oppression.

Yet there is no doubt that the US and Israeli attack on Iran is unprovoked and illegal, that it constitutes a war of aggression in breach of international law, a war crime for which the Nazi leaders were sentenced to death at Nuremberg.

This also applies to the targeted assassination of leading statesmen. Under international humanitarian law, these are only legitimate targets if they are part of the armed forces and integrated into the military chain of command—and even then only in a war, which in the case of Iran was never officially declared. The systematic elimination of a state’s political leadership, as the US is doing in Iran, is, by contrast, clearly a crime.

Experts in international law and international relations are largely in agreement on these issues. A statement dated March 17, which has since been signed by 90 German professors, concludes: “The use of military force against Iran by Israel and the US constitutes a violation of the prohibition on the use of force under international law.” This assessment is explained in detail in the statement.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has also now endorsed this view. “This war is contrary to international law—there is little doubt about that,” he said on Tuesday in a speech marking the 75th anniversary of the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. “Our foreign policy does not become more convincing by failing to call a breach of international law a breach of international law.”

Steinmeier, who in 2014, as foreign minister, was one of the main architects of the pro-Western coup in Ukraine and the subsequent war against Russia, is evidently concerned that identifying too closely with the war in Iran could further undermine the politically beleaguered federal government, for the overwhelming majority of the German population rejects the war.

According to an ARD-Deutschland Trend poll, 58 percent considered it unjustified right from the start. Now its catastrophic consequences are becoming increasingly apparent day by day in the form of rising fuel, energy and food prices and a slump in production.

Above all, however, Steinmeier is concerned that Germany and Europe should focus on their own imperialist interests and free themselves from military dependence on the US.

Europe must not rely on a return to the once close transatlantic relationship, he said. “The rift is too deep, and the trust in American great-power politics has been lost—not only among the allies, but worldwide,” he said. Europe must break free from transatlantic dependencies “that make us vulnerable” and “achieve sovereignty in defence and technology.”

Steinmeier’s assessment that the war is contrary to international law has no practical consequences for the German government. Otherwise, it would have to be brought before a court. For if the US attack on Iran is contrary to international law, then the German government is an accomplice to a war crime and is thus itself guilty of a crime.

The assertion constantly repeated in Europe, “This is not our war,” was a brazen lie from the outset. Without its bases in the UK, Germany, Portugal, Italy, France and Greece, the US would not have been able to wage this war at all.

The US maintains around 40 military bases in Europe, housing some 80,000 troops. These serve as staging grounds for operations in the Middle East and Africa. They house troops and weapons, intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities, command centres and refueling facilities.

With the exception of Spain, all European countries have permitted the use of these bases for the war against Iran. Only the British government hesitated briefly but then authorised “defensive” bombing raids from British bases. Since defensive and offensive actions cannot be separated in war, this restriction is meaningless. US bombers are now flying missions from the military airfields at Fairford in England and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

The German air base at Ramstein, one of the largest US bases worldwide, is a central hub for operations in the Middle East. It serves as a hub for command, communication and data transmission. Long-range strikes are coordinated and drone missions controlled from there. Ammunition, troops and equipment are also flown from the US to the Gulf region via Ramstein. It also houses the largest US military hospital outside America.

Another US air base is located in Spangdahlem in the Eifel region, and a command headquarters is in Stuttgart. The German government permits the use of these facilities for the war in Iran without objection.

Other key US air bases are located in Aviano, Italy and on the Portuguese Azores island of Terceira. France allows the US Air Force to refuel its aircraft at the Istres-Le Tubé military airbase on the Mediterranean coast and has deployed its own fleet to the eastern Mediterranean.

However, the G7 nations will not stop at providing logistical support for the war. They are preparing to enter the war with their own troops. The foreign ministers’ statement already hints at this.

It reaffirms “the importance of securing sea lanes and the safety of shipping, including in the Strait of Hormuz and all associated critical sea lanes, as well as the security and safety of supply chains and the stability of energy markets.” And it assures the states in the region that are under attack from Iran of “unwavering support for their security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Thus, with a new justification—securing sea lanes, defending Arab allies—the entry of Europe, Canada and Japan into the escalating war is being prepared.

The reason for this lies in the nature of the war itself. It is about oil, gas, profit and strategic power. The US is attempting to compensate for its economic decline through military force and to bring the Middle East under its control—in preparation for a war against China. The European powers, which have a long colonial history and massive economic interests in the region, do not intend to stand on the sidelines.

The war is being waged on the backs of the working class, which is forced to bear the costs through rising prices, job losses and cuts to social services, as well as through being war victims and cannon fodder. None of the established parties is resisting this development. They are all, in one form or another, tied to the profit interests of the ruling class. Only a socialist movement that unites the international working class in the struggle against war and capitalism can prevent a renewed slide into world war and barbarism.