Overview
- EU foreign ministers held an emergency video meeting and issued a joint call for maximum restraint, protection of civilians and full respect for international law, warning that disruption of the Strait of Hormuz must be avoided.
- Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pressed for a credible transition in Iran that halts military nuclear and ballistic missile programs and ends regional destabilization, and she convened a special Security College meeting for Monday.
- NATO said its top commander in Europe is closely tracking developments and adjusting forces as needed, while the leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. signaled a tougher stance by pledging steps to enable necessary, proportionate defensive action against Iran’s launch capabilities.
- Iran launched widescale retaliatory strikes across the Gulf, with reports of a U.S. base in Bahrain hit, a Dubai hotel fire, three U.S. soldiers killed, missiles and drones landing near about 300 U.K. troops in Bahrain, and two missiles fired toward Cyprus.
- European governments remain split over the U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the EU naval mission reported VHF warnings affecting vessel transit through the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the security and economic stakes for Europe.