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The Ring: Is the EU a spectator or player as war grips Middle East?

Published

4 weeks ago

March 12, 2026

The Ring: Is the EU a spectator or player as war grips Middle East?

Published on
11/03/2026 – 20:30 GMT+1

The European Union is bracing itself for potentially major repercussions as the Iran war persists, with Brussels urged to intervene to cushion the economic impact on consumers and secure energy supplies.

But beyond the immediate concerns, the war is also raising existential questions about the EU’s foreign policy and its place in an increasingly dangerous and chaotic world.

In this context, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Antonio López-Istúriz, of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), and Daniel Attard of the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) stepped into The Ring to defend their views on the EU’s response to the conflict.

Both MEPs are aligned in their condemnation of the Tehran regime and believe that the EU has to continue to support the Iranian people calling for change.

MEP Attard believes that reports of Iranian mine-laying ships in the critical Strait of Hormuz indicate that the regime is severely weakened and facing its moment of reckoning.

MEP López-Istúriz says the EU must firmly stand by its democratic allies — including the US and Israel — rejecting the “narrative” of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has firmly condemned the US-Israeli attacks on Iran as a violation of international law and the values that the EU holds dear.

This episode of The Ring is anchored by Mared Gwyn Jones, produced by Luis Albertos and Amaia Echevarria, and edited by Vassilis Glynos.

Watch The Ring on Euronews TV or in the player above and send us your views by writing to thering@euronews.com.

Related Topics:EU-Iran European Parliament Featured Iran war

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World

Iran War Live Updates: Trump’s Deadline Draws Closer With No Sign of Diplomatic Breakthrough

Published

1 hour ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

Israel and Iran traded fresh attacks on Tuesday after President Trump said a cease-fire proposal was “not good enough.” Mr. Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern.

World

CENTCOM commander directed strike against an IRGC headquarters in underground facility: sources

Published

2 hours ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

CENTCOM commander directed strike against an IRGC headquarters in underground facility: sources

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High-level sources have informed Fox News that during rescue efforts in Iran after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down, the commander of U.S. Central Command directed an attack against an underground Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters.

While the airman rescue was going on, CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper directed a strike on an IRGC headquarters in an underground facility near Tehran — it was done with B2 bombers, using Massive Ordnance Penetrators, the same weapon used last year in Operation Midnight Hammer, according to the sources. Fox News is told the headquarters was obliterated.

U.S. military B1 bombers (BONES) dropped a hundred 2,000-pound bombs during the rescue operations to keep Iranians away from the rescue area during the operation, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

A senior military source told Fox News, “we delivered the heat” on the IRGC.

RESCUE EXPERT SAYS MOST DANGEROUS MOMENT COMES AFTER ‘JACKPOT’ CALL IN RECOVERY BEHIND ENEMY LINES

Adm. Brad” Cooper, commander of Central Command, speaks during a joint press conference with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at CENTCOM headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, on March 5, 2026. (Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

CENTCOM noted in a press release that U.S. forces had rescued two service members after their F-15E was downed.

Fox News was told that the operation took place between the two rescues: Cooper ordered the B2s to fly round trip from Whiteman Air Force Base in the U.S. because they received time-sensitive intelligence about the location of a large number of IRGC commanders inside this underground bunker in Tehran, and the Massive Ordnance Penetrators, bunker buster bombs, were dropped by the B2 warplanes.

AIRMAN RESCUE SHOWS US CAN PENETRATE ENEMY TERRITORY ‘ANYWHERE’ IN IRAN, FORMER PENTAGON OFFICIAL WARNS

Wreckage is seen from what Iranian authorities say is a U.S. military helicopter that crashed during a mission to rescue the missing American pilot of an F-15E that was downed, in a handout image provided on April 5, 2026, in an unspecified location in Iran. (Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance/Handout via Getty Images)

Following the rescues, President Donald Trump declared in a Truth Social post, “We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran. The Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close. He is a highly respected Colonel. This type of raid is seldom attempted because of the danger to ‘man and equipment.’ It just doesn’t happen!”

RETIRED F-16 PILOT SAYS RESCUED US AIRMAN’S SURVIVAL IN IRAN HIGHLIGHTS INTENSE EVASION TRAINING

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“The second raid came after the first one, where we rescued the pilot in broad daylight, also unusual, spending seven hours over Iran. An AMAZING show of bravery and talent by all!” he said.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

World

Between Budapest and Brussels: Péter Magyar’s political tightrope

Published

4 hours ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

The leader of Hungary’s opposition Tisza party has prioritised domestic campaigning over his parliamentary duties, at times defying his European Parliament group to appeal to voters while distancing himself from EU figures like Ursula von der Leyen.