Iran and beyond
(RFE RL) US President Donald Trump said it is “too late” for talks with Iran after Tehran made a bid to hold discussions amid the US-Israeli military operation as both sides continued to launch air strikes four days into the conflict. “Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said ‘Too Late!'” Trump wrote in a social media post on March 3. He did not say when Iranian officials had indicated they were willing to enter talks. Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva also cast doubt on any talks, saying that “for the time being we are very doubtful about the usefulness of negotiation.” – Trump Says ‘Too Late’ For Talk As US, Israeli Continue Strikes And Iran Fires Back
(Frud Bezhan – RFE RL) In just a few days, the United States and Israel’s massive bombardment of Iran has sprawled into a regional war that has dragged in key America allies in the Middle East and sent global energy prices soaring. Iran has responded to the joint US and Israeli campaign, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, by unleashing unprecedented barrages of missiles and drones at US military and diplomatic facilities and striking key energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf. Fighting an existential threat, experts say, Tehran is aiming to raise the economic, political, and military pain of the conflict for the United States and secure an end to hostilities. “Tehran appears to be wagering on [US President] Donald Trump’s reluctance to become entangled in messy and costly wars, seeking to demonstrate that it possesses the capability to prolong the conflict and make it increasingly complex and expensive,” said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. – Iran War Descends Into Regional Conflict With Global Spillovers
(Human Rights Watch) Iranian authorities in 2025 carried out executions on a scale unseen since the late 1980s, carried out mass killings in response to protests across the country, conducted mass and arbitrary arrests, and ratcheted up repression under the guise of national security, Human Rights Watch said (…) in its World Report 2026. – Iran: Human Rights Situation Spirals Deeper into Crisis | Human Rights Watch
(Marc Caputo, Barak Ravid, Alex Isenstadt, Zachary Basu – Axios) MAGA’s ascendant “America First” wing erupted after Secretary of State Marco Rubio effectively blamed Israel for drawing the U.S. into war with Iran. Why it matters: Rubio’s remarks were the first time a Trump official had so explicitly acknowledged Israel as a driving force behind the war — landing at a moment when Americans’ public support for Israel has hit historic lows. “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action” against Iran, Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill on Monday. “We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces” by the Iranian regime. – Rubio’s war remarks blow open MAGA’s Israel divide
(Ben Geman – Axios) Crude oil prices are at their highest levels since the military campaign against Iran after climbing again overnight and Tuesday morning. Why it matters: The latest rise — and how it ripples through consumer prices — raises the stakes of Trump officials’ upcoming plans to address costs. The latest: The Energy and Treasury Departments will begin rolling out new efforts Tuesday to address energy price increases from the Iran conflict, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. – Oil prices surge as Trump team readies to “mitigate” costs
Europe
(Aude van den Hove and Douglas Busvine – Politico) The European Commission will adopt the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) on Wednesday, finally backing the bill to boost local producers of windmills, solar panels or electric vehicle batteries after weeks of wrangling and delays. Haggling over the planned regulation went right down to the wire, with a meeting of cabinet chiefs that began on Monday spilling into Tuesday, the day before Ursula von der Leyen’s College of Commissioners will now sign off on an agreed text. According to one Commission official, another 44 changes were made to the draft at the meeting that ran into overtime. Paula Pinho, the Commission’s chief spokesperson, confirmed at Tuesday’s regular midday briefing that “commissioners are expected to adopt a proposal for an Industrial Accelerator Act.” – Brussels to finally adopt ‘Made in Europe’ act after yet another rehash – POLITICO
Norway – France
(Laura Kayali – Politico) Norway is willing to start talks with Paris on how French nuclear weapons can contribute to the continent’s security, Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said on Tuesday. “We are ready to discuss this within the framework of a partnership agreement with France. But our nuclear policy remains firm. We will not have nuclear weapons on Norwegian soil in peacetime,” he told the Norwegian parliament. Oslo’s willingness to start talks is yet another example of how European countries are shifting their security strategies in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and worries about relying on the U.S. following Donald Trump’s reelection. – Norway ready to start nuclear weapons talks with France – POLITICO
Pentagon – Anthropic
(Verity Coyle, Anna Bacciarelli – Human Rights Watch) The United States Department of Defense’s decision on February 27 to reject the artificial intelligence company Anthropic’s ethical red lines for AI for military use is a clear sign that the Pentagon is unlikely to uphold meaningful safeguards on weapons’ development. Anthropic declined to allow the Pentagon to use the company’s products for fully autonomous weapons and mass surveillance of US citizens in fulfilling its Defense Department contract. – US Military’s Dangerous Slide Toward Fully Autonomous Killing | Human Rights Watch
Russia – Europe
(Milena Wälde – Politico) The Bank of Russia is suing the European Union for keeping its state assets frozen “for an indefinite period” to serve as collateral against a €90 billion loan to Ukraine. The lawsuit will test rare emergency powers that the European Commission used last year to keep Russian state assets across the bloc, worth some €210 billion, on ice through a qualified majority. The legal loophole nullified vetoes that Kremlin-friendly countries in the EU, such as Hungary, would otherwise have had. EU leaders agreed in mid-December to raise common debt without Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia to finance Kyiv’s defense against Russian forces. Ukraine will only have to pay back the loan once Moscow ends the conflict and pays war reparations. If the Kremlin refuses, EU leaders reserve the right to tap the cash value of the frozen assets to pay itself back. – Russia’s central bank sues EU for freezing its assets indefinitely – POLITICO
Russia – Hungary
(Martin Fornusek – The Kyin Independent) The leaders of Hungary and Russia discussed Hungarians serving in the Ukrainian army who ended up in Russian captivity, among other topics, during a phone call on March 3, the Kremlin said. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, widely regarded as the EU’s most Moscow-friendly leader, held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid an escalating spat between Kyiv and Budapest. The leaders discussed “Hungarian nationals that were mobilized into the Ukrainian Armed Forces and subsequently captured as (Prisoners of War),” the Kremlin’s press service said. Kyiv and Moscow have held numerous exchanges of military and civilian captives during the full-scale war. – Putin, Orban discuss Hungarians in Ukraine’s army captured by Russia, Kremlin says
Russia – Ukraine
(Yelizaveta Surnacheva, Valeriya Yegoshyna, Kira Tolstyakova, Schemes and Systema – RFE RL) “War is war, but don’t forget about the cash. Get yours,” a Russian officer texted to a subordinate who was about to succeed him as commander of a division fighting in Ukraine, apparently advising him to take advantage of the moneymaking opportunities presented by the position. “Delete this message later,” the officer added. A trove of text and audio messages, photos, and videos purportedly sent and received over a three-year period by the officer, Roman Demurchiev, and provided to reporters from Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, includes ample evidence of possible war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. – Exclusive: A General’s Correspondence Details The Wartime Role Of Graft In The Russian Military
(Tania Myronyshena – The Kyiv Independent) Ukraine has liberated nine settlements in the Oleksandrivka sector along the southeastern front line, Ukraine’s Air Assault Forces said on March 2 on Facebook. The announcement follows a statement by Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, who said Ukrainian forces regained more territory in February 2026 than Russia captured during the same period. “Three additional settlements in the area have been fully cleared of Russian troops, while fighting continues for several more,” the statement read. – Ukrainian forces liberate 9 eastern settlements as Russian troops face Starlink disruptions, Ukraine’s military says
(Tim Zadorozhnyy – The Kyiv Independent) Russia’s central bank filed a legal challenge against the EU’s decision to indefinitely freeze part of its gold and foreign exchange reserves, the bank announced on March 3, confirming the case was brought before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The appeal, submitted on Feb. 27 to the EU’s General Court, targets a Dec. 12, 2025, regulation adopted by the Council of the European Union that extended the asset freeze indefinitely and limited legal avenues to contest the measure. The case marks Moscow’s latest attempt to contest Western restrictions imposed after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as Brussels moves to keep Russian sovereign assets immobilized and potentially channel their proceeds toward Ukraine’s recovery. – Battle over Russia’s frozen assets reaches EU’s General Court
Türkiye
(Human Rights Watch) The Istanbul mayor and main opposition Republican People’s Party presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu will stand trial on March 9 as the central defendant in a politically motivated mass corruption prosecution of 407 defendants which raises serious fair trial concerns. The case is the culmination of a 17-month campaign by the Turkish authorities against the main opposition party through criminal investigations, detentions, and other lawsuits targeting İmamoğlu, other elected officials, and the party leadership, pointing to a concerted effort to remove İmamoğlu from politics and discredit his party in ways that undermine democracy. The use of detention and legal processes to challenge elected opposition party officials undermine the party’s ability to compete with the ruling party in future elections and citizens’ right to freely express support for candidates of their choosing. – Türkiye: Leading Opponent of Erdoğan on Trial | Human Rights Watch
UK
(Noah Keate – Politico) The Greens polled ahead of Keir Starmer’s governing Labour Party, in data that will deepen grumbling about the British prime minister’s leadership. The latest voting intention study from YouGov puts the Greens on 21 percent. They rank second only to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, on 23 percent. Starmer’s Labour Party is now neck-and-neck with the center-right Conservatives in joint third place, on 16 percent. It is the highest the Greens have ever polled for YouGov, and it is the first time they’ve appeared in second place. – Greens overtake Starmer’s Labour in new UK poll – POLITICO
Ukraine
(Oleg Sukhov – The Kyiv Independent) Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s former chief of staff, will head a committee of Ukraine’s National Association of Lawyers, the association said on March 3. Yermak did not respond to requests for comment. Yermak resigned on Nov. 28 following searches by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) at his premises earlier that day. He is being investigated in a case involving state nuclear power monopoly Energoatom, the biggest corruption investigation during Zelensky’s presidency. He has not been charged yet. – Zelensky’s ex-chief of staff Yermak to head lawyers’ association committee
US – UK
(Noah Keate – Politico) Donald Trump said Britain’s alliance with the U.S. is “obviously not what it was” in a fresh interview rebuking Keir Starmer’s Iran stance. The British PM “has not been helpful,” the U.S. president said, as he lamented the state of Britain’s so-called “special relationship” with the U.S. “I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the U.K.,” Trump said of Starmer’s initial decision to block the U.S. from using its airbases to bomb Tehran on Saturday. – Trump says UK-US relationship ‘not like it used to be’ – POLITICO
