MADRID, April 17. /TASS/. US officials are pressuring their European allies to join the conflict with Iran, El Mundo said, citing sources.

According to the newspaper's report, significant tension surrounds the US-Israeli military operation in the Islamic Republic. Although sources interviewed by the publication insist that this will not lead to the US withdrawing from NATO, as threatened by President Donald Trump, they note that Washington is exerting strong pressure on its European allies to participate in the Gulf conflict.

On February 28, the US and Israel launched a war against Iran. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, came under attack. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a large-scale retaliatory operation against Israel. Iranian authorities also decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to ships associated with the US, Israel, and countries that supported the aggression against Tehran.

On April 11, Iran and the US held several rounds of talks in Islamabad. The Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the American delegation was headed by Vice President JD Vance. Both sides later reported that they were unable to reach an agreement on a long-term settlement of the conflict due to a number of contradictions. The prospects for advancing dialogue between Tehran and Washington remain unclear. The US imposed a naval blockade on Iran on April 13.