Eurotopics.net

"Finally, to the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand." US President Donald Trump made this promise to the people of Iran in his speech at the beginning of the Iran War. Following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the regime has appointed his son Mojtaba Khamenei as his successor. Commentators see little to indicate that the mullahs' power base has been weakened.

At the start of a nuclear energy summit near Paris, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described Europe's move away from nuclear power as a "strategic mistake". In 1990, roughly one third of Europe's electricity came from nuclear energy; today that figure has dropped to just under 15 percent. Nuclear power is a "reliable and affordable source of low-emission energy," von der Leyen said.

In Cyprus, popular discontent is growing over the British military presence on the island. Demonstrators held a rally outside the presidential palace in Nicosia on Saturday calling for UK military bases to be closed. The demand comes in the wake of a drone strike from Lebanon on the Akrotiri air base on 1 March. The UK has had two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia since 1960 which are now being used by the US military in the Iran war.

European states have different stances on the US and Israeli attacks on Iran. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed at a meeting with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday that Germany agrees that the regime in Tehran must be removed from power. The UK initially refused to allow the US to use British military bases for attacks on Iran but has now given permission in specific cases. Meanwhile Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has spoken out against the strikes and called them a violation of international law.