Irish prime minister addresses how Europe feels about US-Iran conflict: We prefer peaceful resolution

Irish Prime Minister Taoiseach Micheál Martin addressed how Europeans are perceiving the United States war on Iran as Operation Epic Fury enters its third week.“From the Irish perspective, we prefer peaceful resolution of conflict, if that’s possible, and we ultimately believe in diplomacy and dialogue,” he said.Martin joined “Special Report” on Monday ahead of his St.Patrick’s Day meeting with President Donald Trump, where he discussed international perceptions of the U.S.-Iran conflict and Ireland’s relationship with the United States.The prime minister agreed with Trump’s position that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon but diverged from the U.S.

on its tactics for achieving that objective.“Everyone has acknowledged that you cannot have a rogue state like Iran getting control of nuclear weapons,” Martin asserted.“And it was a very, very repressive regime.”Martin noted Ireland’s longstanding diplomatic approach, referencing the lessons the country learned from the 30-year conflict known as “The Troubles” between Protestant unionists and Catholic nationalists.“We had war ourselves on the island of Ireland,” he told Fox News.

“It was a terrible 30-year conflict, and we learned a lot in terms of how to resolve conflict.”The Taoiseach also pushed back on critics who say Ireland’s relationship with the United States has grown strained.“We come with mutual respect.We don’t agree on everything, of course,” he said.

“And I think that once we have that mutual respect and so forth, I think the relationship will continue to grow.I mean, there’s 35 million people in America who claim Irish-American descent.”Martin highlighted the billions of dollars in Irish investment flowing into the United States and dubbed the U.S.-Irish relationship a “two-way economic street.”“$390 billion of investment ongoing over the years, increasing all of the time.

800 Irish companies now employing… about 200,000 people acro...