On Thursday, March 12, the House of Representatives debates the American and Israeli attacks on Iran and their consequences with Prime Minister Rob Jetten and the Ministers of Defense Dilan Yeşilgöz and Foreign Affairs Tom Berendsen. You can follow the debate live from 10:35 AM via Debat Direct.
On Saturday, February 28, Israel and the United States began attacking targets in Iran. During the first wave of attacks, the supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other key regime members were killed. Subsequent attacks targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, missile installations, nuclear facilities, air force and naval installations, communication centers, and other targets.
Response from Iran
In response, Iran fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. Additionally, a British military base in Cyprus was attacked. Dozens of civilian casualties occurred.
Solidarity
The Dutch cabinet stands in solidarity with these countries and strongly condemns the Iranian attacks on the civilian infrastructure of countries not involved in this conflict, writes Minister of Foreign Affairs Tom Berendsen in a letter to the House of Representatives on March 3.
Deployment of frigate
Meanwhile, based on Article 100 of the Constitution, the cabinet has informed the House that the air defense and command frigate Zr. Ms Evertsen is deployed in the Mediterranean Sea due to the situation in the Middle East. On Tuesday, March 10, the House received a technical briefing from officials of the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs about this mission. On Wednesday, March 11, the House debated this in a committee debate, followed by a plenary conclusion where motions could be submitted.
Follow live, read more and watch back
- Follow the debate of March 12 live from 10:35 AM. You can also watch back later via this link.
- Read the letters to the House about the mutual attacks, the Article 100 procedure, and stranded Dutch citizens in the Middle East.
- Watch the technical briefing of March 10 back.
- Watch the committee debate and the plenary conclusion of March 11 back.
