EU leaders discuss ongoing wars and how they’re impacting energy prices

Iran’s decision to block the Strait of Hormuz continues to wreak havoc on oil prices and global markets. US President Trump has called on other countries to help secure the critical waterway, but it remains to be seen if that plan will pan out.

The Israeli-American attack on Iran has entered a new phase, as Israel has targeted the South Pars gas field in Iran. And while Washington is threatening to target Iran's oil infrastructure if it continues to block the Strait of Hormuz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claims this will not become another forever war: "The media here, not all of it, but much of it, wants you to think, just nineteen days into this conflict, that we're somehow spinning towards an endless abyss, or a forever war, or a quagmire. Nothing could be further from the truth."

And while France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, have said they are ready to help ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, European leaders have convened in Brussels to discuss the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and how they are impacting energy prices. The EC Vice-President and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, seemed unperturbed by Israel’s attack on the world’s largest gas field, and rather took issue with Iran’s attack on Qatar: "Iran’s attacks on Qatar's energy infrastructure creates further chaos and it's clear that we need an exit from this war and not an escalation. It's really, really time to show our support to Ukraine. Because, the war in the Middle-East is connected to the war in Ukraine, and unfortunately Russia is gaining from the war in the Middle-East."

Representing Croatia in Brussels was Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who said that the EU had to draw on recent experience in dealing with the war in Ukraine: "We have to take advantage of our experience from the Russian aggression on Ukraine, when we reacted swiftly by establishing a strong European framework and adopted national measures that, in the context of rising energy prices, preserved social cohesion, and protected citizens, the economy and numerous institutions."

While in Brussels, Prime Minister Plenković commented on President Zoran Milanović's claim that there is no rush to hold a meeting of the National Security Council and Defense Council. Plenković, recently suggested that the two councils be convened next week: "No rush, what are waiting for? Another war? As opposed to him, my initiatives to hold a meeting of the National Security Council and Defense Council, come at times when there are large scale global crises that affect us."

Source: HRT