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Europe Today: Iran warns of retaliation if Trump hits power grid as war enters fourth week
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00:14Good morning. It is Monday the 23rd of March. I'm Maeve McMahon and you're watching Europe
00:20Today. Your daily look at the stories shaping Europe and beyond live here on Euronews.
00:26Coming up, all eyes on the Middle East. Iran is warning of a strong response if US President
00:32Donald Trump follows through on threats to target Iranian power infrastructure within 48 hours.
00:38As the conflict enters its 24th day, tensions are rising with no clear breakthrough in sight
00:45and growing concerns over global energy supplies as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continue
00:51to impact shipping. According to the Iranian Red Crescent, meanwhile, thousands of Iranians
00:56have been injured since the fighting began, with more than 1,000 civilians reported dead.
01:02In Lebanon, the toll is also mounting, with over 1 million people displaced.
01:06Meanwhile, in southern Israel, communities are recovering after recent strikes seriously injured
01:11locals. For the latest developments and to find out what to watch next, we're joined here on set
01:16by Iran user's Stefan Comey. Morning, Stefan. Good morning, Maeve. So look, President Trump has taken
01:21to truth social to say if Iran does not fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the US
01:28will hit
01:28and obliterate their various power plants. Fill us in. Well, that ultimatum you just mentioned will expire
01:36tonight and we're all trying to figure out what happens next. The President will travel to Memphis,
01:41Tennessee, today for a domestic event and hopefully he'll let us know either on Air Force One or on the
01:48ground
01:48what happens next. Now, together with strikes, potential strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure,
01:55the ongoing surge of US troops to the Middle East could set the stage for a Battle of Hormuz,
02:03which would be, for the control of the battle, the Strait of Hormuz could be a new phase of the
02:10war.
02:10Now, there are roughly 4,500 US sailors and marines on their way to the Middle East as we speak,
02:17including an infantry battalion landing team. Now, those forces are not coming to the area for
02:24decoration. They could be part of a new phase of the war, for instance, the invasion of critical
02:30Iranian oil infrastructure, the island of Kark, for instance, or other installations. And such an
02:36invasion would be an off-ramp for Trump. He could declare victory, he could bring relief to the
02:42battled oil markets, and he could keep the Iranians in check. So whether this will happen, of course,
02:50we have to wait.
02:51And that's the thing. It's hard to keep up with President Trump. His messaging keeps changing
02:56on this war. So what does that say, Stefan, about the kind of strategy here of the US?
03:00Well, strategy is a big word. It's pretty incoherent. So the day before he announced his
03:05ultimate, which would be an escalation of the war, he said, well, we have basically reached our
03:10objectives, and we're winding down. That does not really go hand in hand. And on Sunday, Secretary of
03:18the Treasury, Scott Besant, said he tried to justify Trump's contradictory remarks, saying that they're not
03:26mutually exclusive. And you have to escalate in order to de-escalate. So the situation has to get
03:34worse before it can get better. He also offered an interesting timeline. He said the war could go on
03:40for another 30 days or 50 days or 100 days. Now, Maeve, you picked your number. We're as smart as
03:46we were
03:47three weeks ago on this.
03:48Well, whatever happens, we will report it. And of course, meanwhile, the humanitarian toll keeps increasing,
03:53as we reported earlier, Stefan Kroby. Thank you so much for that update there. Now, moving on,
03:58Hungary is hosting their annual CPAC conference in Budapest, just three weeks before the most
04:04important elections of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's political career. In power for 16 years,
04:10the populist anti-EU leader is welcoming far-right allies today from Germany, Austria and Spain,
04:16among others. The CPAC gathering comes as Poland's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, reveals that Viktor Orban
04:22could be leaking e-summit secrets to Russia's Vladimir Putin.
04:26For more, I'm joined here now on SESH by our Maria Tadeo. Good morning, Maria.
04:30Good morning.
04:30So we know also that President Trump has endorsed officially Viktor Orban ahead of this campaign,
04:34but he's not showing up at the CPAC.
04:36No, he is not. And also, we should note the CPAC, of course, is a big conservative conference
04:41that has become aligned with the MAGA right and the MAGA world to some extent. And that includes,
04:46of course, the president of the US. But this is the international branch of it. It was held
04:51yesterday and opened yesterday in Budapest. Viktor Orban was the keynote speaker. And this was a
04:57conference beyond the traditional talking points, which, of course, has centered around the idea of
05:02no woke, no migration. Yes, to a Christian-led, family-oriented society was really an event for
05:09the glory of Viktor Orban ahead of that election. And to that point, the president of the US was not
05:14physically present. But he did send a message in which he said his endorsement of Viktor Orban is
05:20full, total, and complete. Let's take a look.
05:23I also want to send my best wishes to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who I am endorsing, as you know.
05:29I am endorsing his election, which is coming up pretty soon. He has my complete and total
05:35endorsement, as a matter of fact. The Prime Minister has been a strong leader who's shown the entire
05:41world what's possible when you defend your borders, your culture, your heritage, your sovereignty,
05:45and your values. Our two countries are showing the way toward a revitalized West. We're going to be
05:51working hard together on energy, and you're going to be working and continuing to work very hard
05:55on immigration, because Europe has got to sort of get going a little bit.
06:02Well, Europe has to get going a little bit. You saw that in that message, the president of the US,
06:06really the full power of the Trump administration behind Viktor Orban. We're also expecting, not a date
06:12confirmed yet, but expecting a trip by the US Vice President J.D. Vance, who has cited Viktor Orban
06:18as an inspiration when it comes to politics. You also had Marco Rubio, remember, on a tour in Central
06:24Europe just a few weeks ago. All of this power behind the re-election of Viktor Orban, who is trailing
06:29in polls. But of course, when you look at any election, as soon as you get close to voting day,
06:34and that is April
06:3412th for the Hungarians, that poll usually narrows the distance between the two candidates. So you could see a
06:40tight race between Viktor Orban and Peter Magyar for any European diplomat in Brussels, the capitals. All of them
06:47will tell you this is the most consequential election for Europe this year, because the clash between Budapest
06:53and Brussels is now total. And yesterday, Viktor Orban got a very friendly audience. But just three days ago, let's
06:59remember, at the European summit, he was trashed by everyone, including the head of the European
07:04Council. We're just on that point, we're also seeing a spot between the polls and the Hungarians
07:08ahead of the election. Yes, over the weekend, all of this starts because of a report in the Washington
07:13Post, which said two things. Both accounts are explosive. One is that Russian intelligence worried
07:19last month that Viktor Orban is not polling strongly. And one of the ideas they floated to energize
07:26the campaign was to stage an assassination attempt. That is count number one. And then count number two,
07:31this report suggested that the Hungarian foreign minister regularly spoke, including during meetings
07:37with his Russian counterpart, Lavrov, to debrief him on the content of EU summits. Of course, EU summits,
07:45these are held in private. The content is understood to be confidential among the 27. And the Polish
07:51Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded over the weekend in a tweet saying that he is not surprised
07:56about these allegations in the newspaper, as I mentioned, the Washington Post, but also said
08:01the news that Orban's people inform Moscow about EU council meetings and every detail should not come
08:07as a surprise. We've long had our suspicions that this was happening. And there's one reason,
08:12or that's the one reason why I take the floor only when strictly necessary and say just as much
08:17as necessary. Obviously, the two accounts are explosive. The Hungarians deny it. But nonetheless,
08:23that is the mood between the EU 27. And this is inevitably going to bring up a question in terms
08:28of
08:29should the Hungarians be kept out of delicate discussions? Should there be closer cooperation
08:34among some EU countries, but leave the Hungarians out? And then, of course, there's a question of
08:38Antonia Kostak. And he really bring about his authority when it comes to Viktor Orban, who, again,
08:43was trashed at this EU summit. But nonetheless, his double veto on Ukraine remains.
08:48Okay. Countdown is on to those very important elections. Maria Stale, thank you so much
08:52for that update. Now, coming up, we'll be joined by Barstian Vector, the EU counterterrorism
08:58coordinator. The Dutch diplomat is at the forefront of Europe's fight against terrorism and is in the
09:04spotlight today, given yesterday marks 10 years since the deadly Brussels bombings that took the lives of
09:1032 people. 16 who were on board a metro just a stone's throw from the Uranus studio here in the
09:17EU quarter. And 16 who were inside the Brussels airport departure area just checking in for their
09:23flights. Good morning. Thank you so much for joining us here on Europe Today. So look, 10 years on now
09:28from those horrific Brussels attacks. For victims and their families watching this morning, what changes
09:32do you feel have been made here that makes Europe safer than it was back in 2016?
09:36Well, first of all, like you say, today is really that we think about all the victims like we did
09:41yesterday.
09:41There were national commemorations in Belgium. Why? Because this affected so many people. I think we all know
09:46people in some way have been affected by these attacks that reverberated really throughout Europe.
09:51Now, what I'd say to victims today is that we're in a much better place. We haven't seen this type
09:55of large-scale
09:56concerted attacks in Europe for the last 10 years or so. And that's very much thanks to, I would say,
10:03in the first place, the activities of our law enforcement intelligence agencies throughout
10:07Europe.
10:08So that's obviously very reassuring as well for our viewers who are tuning in this morning. So what
10:11are the chances of dying today in a terrorist attack in Europe?
10:14Well, if you consider the number of attacks that we've seen, we've seen a different kind of attacks.
10:19We've seen the more self-initiated attacks by lone actors, if you will. So IS, that was responsible
10:25for the terrorist attacks in Brussels 10 years ago, has really adjusted its strategies, which means that
10:30we've also had to adjust. So I would say that the chances are low. But what we see is that
10:35we're
10:35trying to grasp a new phenomenon, which is new, which is young people radicalising very fast,
10:42radicalising online. And that's something we have to grapple with today.
10:46And as someone who covered those terrorist attacks, I remember back 10 years ago, there was no trust
10:50between member states. There was very bad coordination as well between authorities. Has that improved today?
10:55Very much so. Very much so. We've, in Europe, and I should say, very much pushed also by the Belgians
11:01and the French, who, of course, were the first affected by these major terrorist attacks. Their services have
11:06very much put together, for instance, a task force together called Task Force G-TN-T, to work together on
11:12these
11:12investigations, but also pushed very much for efforts at European level, meaning that we've put in place
11:17interoperable databases. We've strengthened our borders. We exchanged information much more fast at different
11:23levels, at national levels, but also at European level. And mostly, what's very important is that at
11:27European levels, also beyond strengthening our borders, we've invested much more in relations
11:32and dialogues with third countries, because we know that terrorist threat emanates also from beyond
11:37our borders very much. And we're reporting, of course, on the 24th day of the ongoing war in Iran,
11:42we've seen that Europol has warned there could be immediate repercussions for us here in Europe,
11:46be that violent extremism or cyber attacks. What are you seeing?
11:49Look, any situation of conflict and violence, instability in any region, always gives an opportunity to
11:56terrorists to assert themselves. And what we're seeing is, of course, that it creates a lot of
12:00narratives, a lot of propaganda online, that again, the young people that I mentioned before, and many
12:05others will be affected by, can be influenced by. That being said, Iran has for a long time already been
12:10known
12:10as being a, what I would call a lethal spoiler, using terrorist tactics on our soil, instrumentalizing
12:17criminal networks to carry out attacks, to basically disrupt our society, to target dissidents,
12:24cyber attacks. We've seen a range of, let's say, instruments used by the Iranians. So it's been on
12:31our radar for a long time. Of course, in the current context, you could argue that that threat will only
12:35increase.
12:36Thank you so much for coming to us here on Europe today on Euronews. But now, moving on,
12:42European car owners might have to pay up to €150 extra per day as oil prices surpass €100 a barrel.
12:51That's according to a new study by Transport and Environment, who argue that unless Europe weans off
12:56fossil fuels, it will always be vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. Our Jacobianis takes a look at how
13:01EU governments are grappling with this huge consequence of Trump's war on Iran.
13:07Next time you grumble at the petrol pump, who should you really be mad at? The oil companies?
13:13Your governments? Or maybe the EU? The truth is, you're paying for a lot more than just the energy
13:19itself. In 20 EU countries, taxes swallow more than half the price of petrol. And the EU sets a minimal
13:25petrol tax, but national governments pile on the rest. So when the Iran war spikes oil prices,
13:32these heavy levies multiply the pain of your wallet. So are there any governments stepping in to ease the
13:38pressure? The answer is yes, and Spain is leading the charge. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez just took
13:45drastic action, rolling out €5 billion emergency package featuring 80 different measures. The standard
13:5221 percent VAT on fuel, electricity and natural gas will go down to just 10 percent. And for drivers,
14:00that car is expected to knock about 30 cents of a liter of petrol. The retail price of butane and
14:06propane, so the gas used to power your stove and heat your home, will be completely frozen.
14:12Finally, the government is also temporarily suspending the tax on the value of electricity production
14:17and issuing direct fuel subsidies for farmers and fishermen. And some countries are following
14:24suit. Italy and Austria are already planning their own national tax cuts to shield citizens.
14:30Moreover, during the last week's summit, EU leaders ordered the Commission to draft temporary emergency
14:35measures. Which is basically political speak for, we need to find quick fix to stop the bleeding.
14:41But the overall conclusion seems to be clear. The only permanent escape from volatile fuel prices
14:48is a faster shift to domestic renewables. So let's look again at Spain. Because almost 60 percent of
14:55their power already comes from renewables. They end up being naturally shielded from these gas price spikes.
15:02And I just wish we had this kind of a sunlight here in Brussels.
15:10Now moving on, all eyes on Slovenia this morning. The EU member states since 2004, with a population of
15:16just over 2 million, held elections this weekend. And it looks like a tie between the Liberal Party of
15:21Robert Golub and the former right-wing populist leader, Janice Jantze. For more on the dramatic
15:26election, which was overshadowed by election interference and claims of espionage, we're joined
15:31here on set by Petros Fasoulas from the European Movement International. Good morning.
15:35So it was a tight race, Petros, but we saw the Liberals claiming victory.
15:39Indeed, this was as close as it can get. In fact, the election itself, but also the campaign that preceded
15:44it,
15:44was worthy of a Netflix political drama. We've seen accusations of foreign interference, corruption.
15:50We have seen a very heated debate between two opposing politicians representing completely
15:57different views of the world. And as a result, I think the Slovenian voters were found guessing and
16:04delivered a very close result.
16:05And now that it is so tight, it might be very hard to form a government.
16:08Indeed. Now a lot depends on who is able to master the coalition and bring together smaller parties.
16:13So it's by no means a done deal. Of course, a lot of people in Brussels were worried that
16:20former Prime Minister Janice would return in power. We know his close links to Trump. We know he has
16:25been very critical of the direction the EU is taking. And as a result, he is expected to join,
16:31perhaps, Orbán in the awkward club. So people will be watching very closely what the result of these
16:36negotiations will be. And as you said, the election campaign itself was very tricky.
16:39Indeed, indeed. And we saw once again that even a small election can master international interest.
16:46And of course, at the moment where we are, with external interference increasing in our politics,
16:51where democracy is under threat even internally, even a population of two million can make a huge
16:56difference. And that's why forces within and outside of the EU are trying to influence that result.
17:01OK. Petros Fassoulos from the European Movement International, thank you so much for your analysis there.
17:05And meanwhile, a second round of local elections took place in France yesterday, which saw the
17:11socialists hold on to power in the big cities like Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lyon. For more on the
17:17outcome there, our France correspondent, Sophia Katzenkova, sent us this update.
17:22France's municipal elections have delivered one clear message tonight, and it's that the left is holding
17:28on to the major cities in France, including the capital Paris, where I'm currently standing.
17:34And behind me, left-wing supporters have just finished celebrating the victory of Socialist
17:39Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire in the second largest city of France, Marseille. Well, Socialist Benoit
17:47Payon was also reelected, but the left remains divided. The hard left of France Unbowed Party also made
17:53quite some significant gains this Sunday, even though they were excluded from alliances,
18:00especially by the socialists during the campaign, who accused France Unbowed of anti-Semitism.
18:07The far right failed to win some of the major cities that it was targeting, including Marseille and the
18:13southern city of Toulon. But in Nice, Eric Ciotti, an ally of the far right national rally, ended up winning.
18:22President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance Party also made some major gains, including the southwestern
18:29city of Bordeaux. But this Sunday is more than just about local politics. It is also an early sign
18:36of how the Battle of France's 2027 presidential election is beginning to take shape.
18:46Sophia Katzenkova there reporting for us on those elections. There was also, of course,
18:50local elections in Germany this weekend. For more on any of those elections or any of the stories that
18:56we're covering for you, you can, of course, visit Euronews.com, download our app or visit any of our
19:02social media sites. But that does bring this edition of Europe Today to an end. Thank you so much for
19:08your
19:08company and for tuning in. As always, you can always reach out and write to us as well whenever you
19:12feel
19:12like it. It's Europe Today at Euronews.com. Take care and see you soon on Euronews.
19:47Take care and see you soon on Euronews.
19:55Bye.
19:55I love you too, I love you too, I love you too, I love you too
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