(our translation from Ansa)
‘Trade between the EU and the United States is deeply integrated and mutually beneficial.
Safeguarding this relationship, particularly at a time of global turbulence, is more important than ever and is clearly in the interests of both parties’. This was stated by a spokesperson for the EU Commission in response to Donald Trump’s statements on halting trade with Spain. ‘The Commission will ensure that the EU’s interests are fully protected. We stand in full solidarity with all Member States and all their citizens, and through our common trade policy, we are ready to act’, he emphasises.
Iran has no intention of negotiating with the United States and is prepared for a prolonged war, the chief adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on the fifth day of the conflict in the Middle East. ‘We do not trust the Americans and we have no basis for negotiating with them. We can continue the war for as long as we want,’ Mohammad Mokhbar said on Iranian state television.
A Russian gas tanker, the Arctic Metagaz, was attacked in the Mediterranean by Ukrainian marine drones launched from Libya, according to the Moscow Transport Ministry, which condemned the incident as ‘an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy’. According to the ministry, quoted by Tass, the attack took place off the coast of Malta. The 30 crew members, all Russian, were rescued thanks to the coordination of Maltese and Russian rescue services, the ministry added.
The Israeli army said its air force shot down an Iranian fighter jet over Tehran today. ‘An Israeli Air Force F-35I (“Adir”) fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter jet in the skies over Tehran a short while ago’, a statement said.
‘Major wars often break out due to a chain of responses that spiral out of control, miscalculations, technical failures, or unforeseen events, so we must learn from history. We cannot play Russian roulette with the fate of millions of people’. This was stated by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in an official statement from the Moncloa Palace, calling on the ‘powers involved in the conflict’ in the Middle East to ‘immediately cease hostilities and focus on dialogue and diplomacy’.
European stock markets opened higher after two days of losses, bucking the trend seen in Asian markets. Markets remain focused on developments in the Middle East conflict. Frankfurt (+0.47%) and Paris (+0.23%) opened higher. London was little changed (+0.08%).
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says that any leader appointed by the Iranian regime to replace Ali Khamenei is an ‘unequivocal target to be eliminated,’ according to the Times of Israel. ‘Any leader appointed by the Iranian terrorist regime to continue leading the plan to destroy Israel, threaten the United States, the free world and the countries of the region, and oppress the Iranian people, will be an unequivocal target to be eliminated,’ Katz said. ‘It doesn’t matter what his name is or where he hides,’ he said. ‘We will continue to act with all our might, together with our American partners, to dismantle the regime’s capabilities and create the conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow and replace it,’ Katz added.
Israel has struck dozens of military targets in Tehran, according to IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee. The attacks targeted ‘the headquarters of the Basij, the paramilitary force linked to the Iranian Pasdaran, as well as missile launch pads and defence systems’. The IDF will continue to ‘intensify its attacks’ against the regime’s infrastructure. International media reporters in the Iranian capital confirm explosions and columns of smoke rising from some areas of the city.
