اروپا امروز: گفتگوی وزیر لبنانی با یورونیوز همزمان با ۱۲۰۰ کشته در حملات اسرائیل

euronews (بزبان فارسی)

اروپا امروز: گفتگوی وزیر لبنانی با یورونیوز همزمان با ۱۲۰۰ کشته در حملات اسرائیل  برنامه صبحگاهی اصلی یورونیوز «اروپا امروز» را ساعت ۸ به وقت بروکسل تماشا کنید. فقط در ۲۰ دقیقه مهم‌ترین خبرهای روز را به شما می‌رسانیم.  لب بیشتر : http://parsi.euronews.com/2026/03/31/europe-today-lebanese-minister-speaks-to-euronews-as-israeli-strikes-leave-1200-dead-in-le  مشترک شوید: یورونیوز به یازده زبان دیگر در دسترس شماست

Transcript

00:14Good morning. It is Tuesday, the 31st of March. I'm Maeve McMahan and this is Europe Today,

00:21your daily catch up of European news and context live here on Euronews.

00:27Coming up, Donald Trump says he will, quote, obliterate Iran's power stations if the regime

00:32does not agree to his peace terms, quote, shortly. Tehran has dismissed the demands as, quote,

00:39excessive, unrealistic and irrational. We'll get the latest from Euronews' Persian news desk.

00:44And all eyes on Lebanon, where two more UN peacekeepers have been killed in Israeli strikes,

00:50bringing the death toll to over 1,200 in Israel's ongoing attacks, according to Lebanon's health

00:56ministry. Over 1.2 million people have meanwhile fled their homes. We'll speak exclusively to the

01:02Lebanese justice minister. But first, finance and energy ministers from the world's seven most

01:08industrialized nations say they're ready to take, quote, any necessary measures to stabilize energy

01:14markets, but they stop short of announcing concrete action. France, which holds the rotating presidency,

01:19says the conflict in the Middle East is already having economic and financial repercussions with

01:26possible inflationary effects. For more, we're joined here on set by our Europe editor-in-chief,

01:31Maria Tadeo, who's been covering G7 meetings for years. Good morning, Maria. So what did you make

01:35of yesterday's talks? Yes, well, Maeve, look, we can talk about the G7, whether it's relevant or not

01:41relevant, whether now it's the G6. Without the United States, can you look at the global economy

01:46without India and China? Of course, those are very valid debates. But when the G7 meets,

01:51especially in the context of a crisis, that is important. And it also sends a signal to the world

01:57that they will take action together. And yesterday in that meeting, which was hosted by France with the

02:03rotating presidency, the G7 agreed, quote, and hopefully we can put it up on the board, that they

02:08will take all the necessary actions to intervene in this energy market to preserve the stability and

02:16the security of a very volatile energy global market. Now, at this point, we've seen that oil

02:24prices, Brent crude yesterday touching $150 a barrel. We've now had practically four weeks of

02:30oil hovering around $100 a barrel. Obviously, that has enormous implications for the global economy.

02:37The G7 reiterated yesterday that they will take and are ready to take measures. They will do so in a

02:42coordinated manner. And they also urged the countries around the world should not restrict

02:46oil exports. Now, all of that is a strong message, you could argue. The issue coming out of that

02:52meeting is that there were no specific actions and there were no concrete measures that were announced.

02:57So in a way, it was yes, all words and no actions. Remember, just a few weeks ago, the International

03:02Energy Agency agreed to release a massive strategic reserve of oil. 400 million barrels entered the

03:10global economy. That was not the case yesterday. There was no indication that that will happen

03:15anytime soon before the reassurance with, yes, we'll take actions, but it's unclear what they will look

03:20like. And then, of course, Maeve, there's a big question around the focus point of this crisis,

03:25which is the Strait of Hormuz, which remains shut. 20% of the global oil transits through that

03:31waterway. It's unclear whether it will reopen. And to that extent, there's also a big question now

03:35in terms of the military operation. Is this weeks or will it be months? And then this overall theme,

03:42which is, is the U.S. preparing for a ground invasion of Iran, certainly when it comes to Karg

03:47Island, which of course homes the oil terminals of Iran. So a lot of that means uncertainty,

03:52volatility that feeds inevitably into the market and prices. And a lot of nervousness, of course,

03:57in this town, but on the EU contemplating their own measures too. Well, yes. And look, when you look

04:01at the EU, there's two ways this can go. You can look at the national measures, which usually means

04:06a government will say, look, at this point, I got to cut VAT taxes on electricity bills, on energy bills

04:13for households. They could also put in forward subsidies that the same could apply for industries.

04:18The issue with the EU is that not every country has the same capacity. They do not have the same

04:23fiscal room to put forward measures. The other point, which is relevant, however, is the EU measures.

04:30We know that they've looked at things like a windfall tax. They've also looked at things that could look

04:35at, you know, buy-in in common, bulk buy-in, but also very relevant. Yesterday, that commission in a

04:41letter, which we have here, is now urging member states, and this is very relevant, to also put in place

04:48demand-saving measures. This means, of course, that you try to tackle this issue through the demand,

04:54the use of energy. That could also mean, look, in this Easter break, don't get on a plane, maybe drive

05:00less. And some interesting numbers also coming in, with the EU now estimating that the bill, just the bill

05:07in additional cost of fossil fuels, is 13 billion euros. So obviously, that leads to a big question

05:13about stagflation, lower growth and more inflation. Indeed, Maria Shea, thank you so much for all those

05:18details. And of course, you can read more about all that on our website, euronews.com. And just in case

05:23you're feeling a little bit overwhelmed by that update, our Jakob Yanis has been taking a look at what

05:28individual EU countries are doing to address this immediate crisis. The war in Iran might seem far

05:36away, but its oil is not. For European drivers, the pain at the pump is very real, with some countries

05:43seeing price spikes of over 30%. So if you are curious how European governments are stepping in

05:49to help, let's look at different strategies together. Spain went big, rolling out a 5 billion euro package

05:59and slashing VAT on motor fuels from 21% down to 10. And Madrid claims this will reduce petrol prices

06:06by

06:06around 30 euro cents per litre. And Poland followed with fuel VAT dropping from 23% to just 8, saving

06:15drivers roughly the equivalent of 30 euro cents. Crucially, Warsaw is also introducing price controls.

06:22Hungary also opted for strict price controls, capping fuel prices. But there is a catch, it only applies

06:29to vehicles with Hungarian number plates to stop cross-border fuel tourism. And Germany and Austria

06:36are taking a regulatory route. Berlin is pushing a rule allowing petrol stations to rise prices only once a

06:43day at noon, while Vienna limits hikes to three times a week. And in France, the state has avoided

06:50massive tax cuts, relying instead on corporate giants like Total Energies to voluntary cap prices.

06:56So who would actually benefit? Well, European citizens could, providing oil companies do not simply

07:03absorb the tax differences. And Italy, for instance, is already threatening to sanction companies trying to

07:09inflate margins. And you see, for European politicians, spending public money is an expensive move. But there

07:16is almost no public appetite to join the US and Israel in active conflict. And your reporter saw this pushback

07:23at the recent G7 summit. Despite Washington's pressure to immediately secure the Strait of Hormuz,

07:29Europe offered a firm reality check. They will help protect the critical waterway,

07:35but only after the war in Iran ends. So until then, perhaps consider using a bike, huh, like Mark Rutter.

07:48Now moving on, the European Union has condemned a decision by Israel's parliament to pass a law making

07:53the death penalty by hanging a reality for all Palestinians convicted in military courts. In a draft

08:00statement, exclusively seen by Euronews this morning, the EU says, quote, capital punishment is a violation to the right to

08:06life.

08:07This, as Israel continues, their attacks on southern Lebanon in what now has been called an invasion.

08:13For the view from Beirut, Euronews's editor, Maria Tseo, spoke exclusively to the Lebanese Justice Minister, Adel Nazar.

08:19We condemn, obviously, all the attacks and in particular also all the ground attacks and the occupation of our territory.

08:30And one has to understand that occupying a territory will never solve the problems. The only way to solve

08:38the problems when two countries are in a situation of conflict is to go into negotiation. The occupation of

08:46territory is obviously condemned. And we cannot accept this statement.

08:52And minister, on that note, going back to the Israeli prime minister yesterday, he said that Israel had

08:58managed to almost eradicate Hezbollah, but residues of it still exist. And the situation in the north

09:04of Israel has to fundamentally change. You talk about occupation. What do you think Israel has in mind?

09:12I cannot speculate on what Israel has in mind. It's obvious that Israel had a past of attacks against

09:21Lebanon and Lebanon is suffering from such attacks. And there was a huge destruction, a lot of killed

09:30persons, injured and displaced persons. Now we are facing a displacement of more than one million inhabitants.

09:39So the situation is dramatic in terms of human rights, in terms of humanitarian situation.

09:46And the government with a little resources or very limited resources is facing a dramatic situation.

09:54This being said, this being said, we are also fully aware that we have an internal problem and we don't

10:03like

10:03and we refuse to make it as a problem that is being raised by Israel. But it is a problem

10:09that we are raising

10:10ourselves, which is the fact that Hezbollah is keeping a military infrastructure. And this is against the

10:17Lebanese government's will. It is against the law. And the position of the government is to take all the steps

10:25to put an end to this military infrastructure that is being used. If we make a small analysis, one will

10:36see

10:38that this is being used as if Lebanon was a military base in favor of Iran. And we refuse this

10:45also.

10:46And to that extent, I spoke with your prime minister two months ago, who said that he would not allow

10:51Hezbollah to drag Lebanon into a war directly with Israel. Nonetheless, you talk about occupation.

10:57Obviously, you also know there's now concerns that this is heading for an invasion of Lebanon. So

11:03how do you get out of this? What can you do internally, but also externally?

11:08We are fully aware that our position is very difficult because in one hand, there are the

11:14Israeli attacks. And on the other hand, there is Hezbollah undermining the state. We are aware that

11:23practically, in order to be able to conduct efficient negotiations, we have to hold the decision

11:32of war and peace and not to have a parallel organization undermining the state. On the other

11:40hand, it is also obvious that we cannot accept that our territory be used as a target by Israel,

11:49the way Lebanon is being targeted. So we understand that we have these two difficult issues on the table.

11:56Iran is making a direct interference in Lebanon's internal policy and is contributing to undermine

12:07the state. We have taken clear decisions in this respect in the government, irrevocable decisions. The

12:14first one concerns the monopoly of the force. The second is to declare the weapons of Hezbollah,

12:26as being against the law. And courts are starting to apply this to any person holding weapons,

12:33including fighters from Hezbollah. So this is on the internal aspect. And on the external aspect,

12:41the president of the republic has launched the idea of negotiations, to have negotiations being

12:50conducted under a format to be agreed upon in order to stop the war that Israel launched against Lebanon.

13:02And meanwhile, the strikes continue between Israel and Iran with reports of explosions and blackouts

13:08last night in Teheran and fears of an oil spill. For the latest, we can cross now to Euronews Leon

13:13and

13:13bring in the head of our Persian news desk. That's Babak Kamiar. Good morning, Babak. So with now over one

13:20month of war, from the information that you can and your team can verify coming out of Iran,

13:24how are people doing there? And what is the situation on the ground?

13:30Listen, Maeve, despite more than a month of war with significant casualties and damage,

13:36daily life has not completely collapsed. Internet access has been largely cut off since the beginning

13:42of the war. In most cases, people are effectively disconnected from the outside war. There are no

13:49major food shortages so far, but financial pressure is intense. Many people have lost their income

13:56and prices have surged. For now, life continues. You still see people in restaurants, exercising,

14:04and children playing, but always under the shadow of war. For many Iranians, explosions, drones and

14:11fighter jets overhead has become part of everyday life. Some residents have chosen not to live

14:18cities like Tehran, not only because few places feel truly safe, but also due to fears of looting,

14:26especially as attacks on police stations have weakened local security in some areas. In the past

14:32two days, electricity cuts have been reported in several parts of the countries. In most cases,

14:38power was restored after a short time. However, it remains unclear how the situation would evolve if

14:46major energy infrastructure or power plants were directly targeted. What is certain is that any

14:53large-scale damage to these facilities would be costly and time-consuming to repair which potentially

15:00serious consequences for daily life. And Babak, it looks like there's no end in sight to this war,

15:06no chance now for diplomacy. What is the Iranian regime saying?

15:12Well, it is still unclear how much of the current rhetoric reflects real intent and how much is

15:20a strategic bluffing. What is clear, however, is that Iranian officials are publicly maintaining

15:26a firm position and continue to warn of retaliation. Iran faces a significant military imbalance compared

15:35to the United States and Israel. However, analysts note that its geography, especially around the Strait

15:42of Hormuz, gives Tehran room to respond through asymmetric means, potentially targeting shipping routes

15:50or regional assets. Senior officials have reinforced this message. Parliament Speaker dismissed the report

15:57of progress in Prague as visual thinking, saying Tehran was waiting for arrival of American troops

16:04on the ground. They are going to punish their regional partners forever.

16:11Okay. Babak Kamiar, thank you so much for that update there from Leon. Now, moving on with the Iran

16:17war showing, as you heard, no signs of slowing down. The US is now allegedly considering redirecting

16:23some of Ukraine's military aid towards the Middle East. This after President Zelensky concludes a trip to

16:29the Gulf in search of financial support. Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers are gathering in Kyiv today

16:34to mark the grim anniversary of the Buta massacre, when hundreds of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war

16:41were murdered by Russian forces. For more on this, we're joined here on set by our Ukraine

16:45correspondent Sasha Vakilina. Good morning, Sasha. Just tell us, what are the expectations for this

16:50meeting today in Kyiv? The European Union foreign ministers are in Ukraine's capital to show their

16:55support on this very emotional day for Ukraine. The 31st of March marks four exact years since the

17:02liberation of Bucha. This is, of course, Kyiv's neighbourhood that was among the first ones to be

17:06occupied, but also the first ones to be liberated, showing for the first time the proof of the atrocities of

17:12the Russian army. Now, unfortunately, the EU ministers can show this support, but cannot really prove it,

17:19because all the Ukraine decisions remain blocked. This is the 90 billion euros loan, this is the new

17:25sanctions against Russia, and all the steps of the EU accession for Ukraine. Announcing the meeting in Kyiv,

17:32Ukraine's foreign minister Andriy Sibiha said that indeed he will be welcome to glad Kaya Kalas and the EU

17:41foreign ministers in Kyiv. We also discussed the EU's support for Ukraine, pressure on Russia and

17:47efforts to achieve peace and protect long-term stability in Europe. The key word here, Maeve,

17:53is discuss and not decide. And meanwhile, Sasha, we're seeing the Europeans facing a brand new

17:58energy crisis, whereas, you know, Moscow's benefiting from higher crude oil prices and also sanctions

18:04relief. Fill us in. Yeah, indeed. But at the same time, there have been several Ukrainian

18:09drone attacks against Russia's oil and energy infrastructure. Kyiv is continuing its campaign,

18:16attacking Russia's money-making machine, of course, something that is financing Moscow's full-scale

18:21invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Zelensky, speaking to the reporters in the WhatsApp chat on Monday,

18:25confirmed that even some of Ukraine partners approached Kyiv asking to slow down. And this is

18:31when he said, first of all, we are not simply carrying out strikes. I want to remind everyone,

18:36we are responding to Ukraine. If Russia is ready not to strike Ukraine's energy infrastructure,

18:41we will not respond against this. Russia knocked out Ukraine's civilian infrastructure

18:48during the winter, leaving millions of Ukrainians without water, heating and electricity for weeks,

18:53Maeve. Okay, Sasha, Vakilina, thank you so much for that update. And of course,

18:56for more on that meeting, you can visit yournews.com throughout the day. But that does bring this

19:02edition of Europe Today to an end. For all of our viewers in Malta today, happy Freedom Day. And to

19:07the rest, thank you so much for tuning in. As I said, download Euronews app or visit our website

19:12for more news and context on all the developing stories that we're covering for you here at Euronews.

19:17Take care. Thanks for tuning in and see you very soon here on Euronews.

19:21Euronews.

19:28Euronews.

19:47Euronews.

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