00:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:59Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
01:01The UN Refugee Agency then says millions of Iranians have been fleeing their homes for safety
01:05as drone and missile attacks spread across the region
01:09with more incidents in Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
01:13For more on the ongoing situation, we can head now to Dubai
01:16and bring in our regional correspondent, Jane Witherspoon.
01:19Good morning, Jane. Thank you so much for joining us.
01:21Look, the new Supreme Leader has spoken, albeit via a newsreader.
01:25What else do you have to say?
01:28Yes, he made a statement yesterday saying that they are going to continue with the fight
01:33and in particular target anyone with links to the U.S.
01:37Now, this comes as they maintain their stranglehold across the Strait of Ormuz.
01:42That remains closed and blocked at the moment.
01:45President Trump last night did give a statement, though, saying that the capabilities of Iranian,
01:52their Iranian capabilities for the military are all but diminished now.
01:56He said that they are quashed.
01:58It looks like there's no end in sight to this war, Jane.
02:01What is the overall feeling there?
02:04Well, we are hearing a constant barrage of military jets overhead both day and night
02:09as people adjust to their new normal.
02:12Yesterday, a U.S. refueling aircraft was lost over Western Iraq.
02:17There was said to be no fire involved in that, any attacks.
02:21Also this morning, sadly, President Macron announced the first French military death
02:28of the Middle East war.
02:29Now, Azerbaijan is also another country that has been targeted by Iran
02:34and they are currently hosting the Baku Global Forum.
02:37We caught up with former EU Council President Jean-Michel,
02:42sorry, gosh, I got that so wrong, Charles Michel, pardon my correction,
02:47and he said that Europe cannot continue to be fragmented.
02:51What is going on today?
02:53There's a gift for Russia because prices are going up on the one hand
02:58because the attention is more focused on the Middle East today
03:02and it allows Russia to continue its war of aggression.
03:06It means that on the EU side, we must be lucid.
03:10The world is changing very fast and we have in Europe to develop our own capabilities.
03:16Today we are fragmented and that's regrettable.
03:20Charles Michel there, the former EU Council President and Belgian politician.
03:23And before that, of course, our correspondent, live reporting from Dubai, Jane Witherspoon.
03:28And of course, European leaders will be meeting in Brussels next week for a high-stakes EU summit
03:33that was meant to actually focus on the economy,
03:35but now, of course, will be overshadowed by the growing conflict.
03:39EU Council President Antonio Costa has sent a letter to EU leaders saying
03:43the negative consequences are already being felt in Europe of this war.
03:47For more, I'm joined here on set by EU News' Sasha Vakilina.
03:50So, EU leaders are very nervous now, Sasha.
03:53And we also heard Antonio Costa, the Council President,
03:55saying that the only winner of this war is Russia.
03:58What are you hearing?
03:59Moscow is definitely benefiting from the rising prices on energy
04:04and with the situation around and in the Strait of War moves being so tense and escalating,
04:09this will continue to happen.
04:11Russia will continue to be benefiting and trying to push for those benefits to receive more.
04:15Now, it's very interesting what is going to happen with the Strait of War moves
04:19because we did hear, as you said, from the new Supreme Leader of Iran
04:22that Tehran intends to keep it closed.
04:25Now, two hours before that address,
04:28I spoke exclusively with Iran's ambassador to the United Nations office in Geneva,
04:32and he said that Iran does not want to close the Strait of War moves,
04:36that Iran wants the Strait of War moves open.
04:39And he said that the only situation that's happening is because there is indeed the war around it.
04:43But he said that Tehran wants to keep the Strait of War moves open,
04:47denying everything, denying the closure and denying the intentions to block it.
04:52He also denied the fact that Iran attacked the civilian sites and infrastructure across the Gulf.
04:58Let's take a listen.
05:00No, I cannot accept that claim.
05:05Our military forces have been instructed to exclusively target military bases
05:12which are used by the United States against our country.
05:17Unfortunately, there are a lot of evidences which shows that those military bases are operational against Iran.
05:26And the United States is carrying out different military operations against Iran from those bases.
05:33Ambassador, but there have been attacks by Iran on the airports,
05:38on the residential buildings, on the hotels across the Gulf states.
05:43These are not verified.
05:45We have been in contact with those states to explain for them what we have done and what we haven't
05:53done.
05:53And we are ready to share information with them about the operations we have made,
06:04about the measures we have taken, and if they have any evidence.
06:08We are ready to verify it.
06:11There has been a big number of cases that the United States or Israel have made some operations in those
06:19countries
06:20to attribute it to Iran.
06:22We have people on the ground, in many of them.
06:25We have people on the ground in the United Arab Emirates, in Qatar.
06:28And these people, the journalists or correspondents, have been documenting the attacks on non-military sites.
06:35As I told you, there might be some operations made by, not by Iran,
06:43maybe by the United States or Israel in those countries to attribute it to Iran.
06:48What would be the purpose of the U.S. and Israel targeting these civilian sites across the Gulf?
06:55When you are talking about the United States and Israel, you shouldn't look for any reasonable argument or any reasonable
07:08intention.
07:10Their intention is to drag those countries into war.
07:14Ambassador, Iran-made drones also targeted to British base in Cyprus,
07:19while also NATO air defense systems intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles heading towards already entering Turkish airspace.
07:28What about these attacks?
07:30Our officials have rejected these news about making any attack in the space of Turkey.
07:40There is, though, a confusion, because we've heard the president apologizing to the Gulf countries.
07:49The president's message was misunderstood.
07:52The president's message was clear.
07:54He said that we will not attack, and we have not attacked any base or location,
08:02which has not been involved in military operations against Iran.
08:06And he continued to be very clear that if any base or center is used to carry out military operations
08:18against Iran,
08:19we will respond accordingly and will target that location, too.
08:25Iran stated that it's been two decades, that it's prepared for any possibilities of this war.
08:35And nowadays, the European cities are also within the range of Tehran's arsenal.
08:40Are they possibly in danger as well?
08:45No, Iran, but what Iran is doing is just a self-defense.
08:52Iran has no intention to attack anybody or to attack any country which is not involved in hostility against Iran.
09:05What Iran is doing now, at this particular time, is to defend itself.
09:11And for us, our policy is quite clear.
09:16If we are attacked, we will respond accordingly.
09:19If we are attacked from any location, then we will attack that location as a legitimate target.
09:26Does that also include, Ambassador, does that also include the European countries where the U.S. forces might also be
09:34stationed or they're using them?
09:36Let me make it clear.
09:38It has been a policy which has been pronounced and announced by our military forces.
09:45Any facility, any base which is used to attack against Iran would be a legitimate target for our military forces.
09:57Ambassador, but within your own country, Iran is attacking its own civilians.
10:02No.
10:06You rejected the claim?
10:08Yes.
10:12But there is proof that the civilians were attacked.
10:18By Iran?
10:20Yes.
10:20The civilians in Iran, the protesters in Iran.
10:27What happened in Iran, if you mean the developments in early January, it was not the peaceful protesters,
10:36who were peacefully protesting in Iran.
10:41It was a complicated scenario which was planned and followed by the United States and Israel against the security of
10:50Iran.
10:54Iran's ambassador to the UN in Geneva there, Ali Bairani, in denial there, speaking to our Sasha Vakilina.
11:00But now for the humanitarian angle, coming up, we'll be joined by Ogotchi Daniels from the UN's International Organization for
11:07Migration,
11:07a former chief of staff at the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees and a UN resident coordinator in Iran.
11:13She's now based in Geneva, from where she joins us now.
11:17Good morning.
11:17Thank you so much for joining us here on the programme.
11:20So we're hearing figures like 3.2 million Iranians are on the move to find safety.
11:25Can you confirm this?
11:26And what exactly is the situation looking like from your lens?
11:31Good morning, Maeve.
11:33Thank you for having me.
11:34What we understand from the situation in Iran is that, yes, there has been a significant movement out of Tehran
11:43to northern parts of Iran.
11:46However, these are precautionary movements and people self-relocating as a precautionary measure.
11:58And this is also because the government had asked people to move for their own safety out of Tehran.
12:07So that is what we are seeing and lots of movement to northern Iran.
12:12And meanwhile, thousands of people are fleeing southern Lebanon.
12:16How critical is the situation there?
12:18Where will internally displaced people go?
12:21And that's the situation we're really worried about.
12:24This is a region that before the conflict had 19 million internally displaced people.
12:31And now we have the conflict on top of that.
12:34And in Lebanon, 820,000 people are now displaced.
12:40We know that about 128,000 of them are in shelters and the shelters have reached capacity.
12:48And while the others have moved and are staying in communities, but there's a lot of pressure.
12:56And we're very worried and concerned about the humanitarian needs right now in Lebanon.
13:03And we've seen France.
13:04They've been sending supplies and aid to Lebanon.
13:06Is that enough?
13:09No, the aid is nowhere near enough to meet the needs and the scale.
13:16First of all, what we call for and join the Secretary General is an end to the hostilities
13:24so that people can go back home, continue with their lives, first and foremost.
13:31And second, while thanking the donors who have provided resources, much more is needed.
13:39Lebanon will be launching an appeal today for additional funding.
13:45But of course, as we've been reporting here at the war, there's no end in sight really to this war.
13:50And I guess the question is, are humanitarian agencies able to cope with this new humanitarian crisis?
13:55And how are cutbacks affecting your work as well on the ground?
14:00We are with this have significant capacity in the region.
14:06As I mentioned, it's the region that has been dealing with displacement.
14:09We're closely monitoring what is happening at borders.
14:14But yes, you are right.
14:15This is an additional strain on us as IOM, but also on the international system because of the funding cuts
14:27that we went through last year.
14:30However, the significant needs that exist as compared to the resources that we're getting from our donors.
14:39So we continue to appeal for more resources to our donors, to the private sector, to diaspora, because the needs
14:48are significant.
14:50And meanwhile, I guess a question on the minds of many of our viewers this morning.
14:54Should the European Union be preparing for a massive influx of refugees?
14:58We are not seeing that right now.
15:02As we've already discussed, most of the displacement is internal within Iran and within Lebanon.
15:09There has been some movement across borders, but it is minimal.
15:13So right now, there is no indication that there is any movement towards Europe.
15:20However, as if hostilities don't send soon, the likelihood of secondary movement is something we will all need to contend
15:32with.
15:32And of course, that's what the EU asylum agency is also potentially preparing.
15:36Ugochi Daniels, thank you so much for joining us this morning here on Europe Today on Euronews.
15:41And as the European Union tries to muddle through the dire consequences of a war that it never wanted, there's
15:48a pile of business as usual on the desks of EU leaders.
15:52Next week, an EU summit that was meant to focus on making the EU competitive again will, of course, be
15:57overshadowed by the war.
15:58But our Jakubianus takes a look at the other issues on the agenda.
16:03Weddings are particular events.
16:05Some people fixate about what the bride will wear.
16:08But your reporter, on the other hand, is obsessed about the wedding cake.
16:12Because, as in the real world, what matters is not only its overall size, but also how big a piece
16:19you get.
16:19And right now, the EU slice of the global wealth cake is getting smaller.
16:23And one proposed solution to fix it is to finally merge Europe's fragmented financial landscape into a single, unified market.
16:32Or, in plain English, instead of baking 27 separate cupcakes, Europe wants one giant cake.
16:39The EU will account for only around 13 of the global GDP in 2030, which is below the US and
16:46way below China.
16:47And foreseeing this, Enrico Letta's 2024 reports argued Europe needs deeper financial integration,
16:54calling from a shift from 27 regulatory realities to just one.
16:58This strategy aims to mobilize the estimated 10 trillion euros in European household savings
17:04currently sitting in a low-interest bank deposits or flowing into Wall Street.
17:09By removing national barriers, the plan channels this money into productive investments,
17:14allowing innovative companies to scale up across the block,
17:17without relying solely on bank financing or even moving to Silicon Valley.
17:22And this week, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain,
17:26saw the six largest economies in the EU, pushed to accelerate this agenda.
17:31In a joint letter, they are urging Brussels to reach an agreement on integrating capital markets by this summer.
17:38But one can ask, why hasn't this cake been baked yet?
17:42While the recipe might sound great, member states are still arguing over details.
17:47Smaller countries fear the framework could hurt their national markets,
17:52and these technical disputes keep slowing the process.
17:55However, the discussions will continue among EU leaders during the European Council summit next week.
18:01So if you are into money, investment or just bacon, stay tuned for more.
18:10Indeed, stay tuned for more.
18:12And for more on that EU summit, we're here on Setsu with our Sasha Vakalina,
18:15because Ukraine, of course, has not been forgotten.
18:17That's also a big topic on that summit agenda next week.
18:20Absolutely.
18:21Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron today on Friday in Paris,
18:25and Ukraine will be a big topic for the summit.
18:27And of course, also because of this loan, 90 billion loan to Ukraine, which remains blocked and vetoes.
18:35And the EU leaders will have to tackle this issue.
18:37We'll have to find another way of unblocking the money, as we've heard from Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio
18:42Costa,
18:43which, as we discussed, will not be even plan B in this case.
18:45It's already plan C, D, and so on.
18:47Indeed, that loan we've been reporting about for months here on Euronews.
18:50Sasha Vakalina, thank you so much for that update.
18:52And thank you so much for tuning in to us here on Europe Today on Euronews.
18:57That brings this Friday's edition to an end.
19:00But stay with us here on Euronews for more news and programmes,
19:03and visit Euronews.com for more news and analysis.
19:05Thank you so much for watching.
19:07Take care and see you very soon here on Euronews.
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