The European Union is expressing concern that the escalation of the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran could lead to an increased flow of migrants from the Middle East to European countries. According to the newspaper Politico, citing an anonymous source, on March 1, ambassadors and foreign ministers from EU member states held closed negotiations regarding the Iranian crisis.

In light of the current events, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen convened an emergency meeting with her team to discuss the EU’s response to the situation in the region. One of the publication’s sources noted that the union is worried about the potential increase in the number of migrants, as well as the need to provide them with humanitarian assistance.

It is worth recalling that on February 28, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reported that the Israel Defense Forces had conducted preemptive strikes against Iran, targeting major Iranian cities, including Tehran. The operation was named “Lion’s Roar.” Following this, both sides closed their airspaces.

Later, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the involvement of the United States in military actions against Iran. The Pentagon confirmed that the U.S. operation was named “Epic Fury.” In response to these actions, Iran launched dozens of ballistic missiles towards Israel and carried out drone and missile strikes against American bases in various countries in the Middle East, including Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. The airspace of all these states remains closed.

Iran has designated its operation as “Truthful Promise 4.” Since the onset of large-scale military actions in the Middle East, more than 870 people have been killed, the majority of whom are Iranians, along with casualties from Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, the UAE, and several American servicemen.

On March 1, state television of the Islamic Republic reported the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and confirmed the deaths of several high-ranking Iranian military officials, including the advisor to Ayatollah Ali Shamkhani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Mohammad Pakpour, and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh.