Iran war’s effects already a reality in Europe: EU chief

The ripples from warfare successful the Middle East are already being felt successful Europe, with rising vigor prices and NATO allies targeted, EU main Ursula von der Leyen said Monday (March 9, 2026).

Oil prices soared connected Monday (March 9, 2026), peaking conscionable abbreviated of $120 a tube arsenic the U.S.-Israeli warfare against Iran continued into a 2nd week, with Tehran launching caller retaliatory strikes successful the Gulf.

“We are present seeing a determination struggle with unintended consequences. And the spillover is already a world today,” the European Commission president told EU ambassadors, up of a midday telephone with Middle Eastern leaders.

“Our citizens are caught successful the crossfire. Our partners are being attacked,” she said, citing an Iranian-made drone hitting a British basal connected EU-member Cyprus, commercialized disruptions and the “displacement of people”.

While Iran has not officially unopen disconnected the Strait of Hormuz — done which a 5th of the world’s crude supplies and a important magnitude of state tally — shipping done the captious waterway has each but dried up.

European state prices besides jumped arsenic overmuch arsenic 30 percent% Monday (March 9, 2026), albeit remaining good beneath the peaks reached successful the aftermath of Russia’s 2022 penetration of Ukraine.

Ms. Von der Leyen stressed that “there should beryllium nary tears shed for the Iranian regime”.

“The radical of Iran merit freedom, dignity, and the close to determine their ain aboriginal — adjacent if we cognize this volition beryllium fraught with information and instability during and aft the war”.

The “longer-term impact” of the warfare posed “existential questions” connected the aboriginal of an planetary rules-based strategy and the 27-nation’s bloc spot successful the world, she told the yearly gathering of European Union diplomats successful Brussels.

“The thought that we tin simply retrench and retreat from this chaotic satellite is simply a fallacy,” she said.

Mr. Von der Leyen besides addressed the Ukraine struggle and assured the gathering that Brussels volition spot done a captious 90 cardinal euro ($104 billion) indebtedness to Kyiv that is being blocked by Hungary.

“We volition present connected our commitments, due to the fact that our credibility — and much importantly, our information — is astatine stake,” she said.