EU needs greater independence on Iran-Israel conflict: scholar

The European Union should play its unique role in Israel-Iran conflict in Middle East peace efforts and reduce dependence on the United States, said a scholar from a Brussels-based think tank while commenting on the intensifying Israel-Iran conflict.

As the division between the EU and the U.S. has been exposed amid the escalating Israel-Iran hostilities, European experts have argued that the European side should reflect on its the reliance on the United States in terms of the security issue.

Sven Biscop, director of the Europe in the World program at Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relations, said that European countries must develop autonomous military capabilities.

"In my view, that means that all the European forces of NATO together should be able to operate, if necessary, without American help, no longer being shown the dependence on the United States. And also we will have to act very urgently, whereas it would have been wiser to start to rebuild our forces a few years earlier," Biscop said.

Biscop said the EU should take an active part in the Middle East and the Gulf to guard against spillover effects from the region and push for an agreement among all parties concerned.

"Unfortunately Europe, for the moment, has little influence in the Middle East and the Gulf. We must play a more active role again in the Middle East and the Gulf, because it's in our neighborhood. And if things go wrong, the early spillover effects will hit us first. So I think in the past, we have not paid enough attention to the region, and this is something to be corrected. I think we should make our position clear that what we want is a balanced regional agreement, a consensus between all the key players. From the European point of view, we don't have to choose sides in this, we just need all the parties to come to an agreement," he said.

The conflict enters the seventh consecutive day on Thursday. Israel carried out fresh waves of airstrikes in Iran on Wednesday, with the Israeli military saying it was targeting nuclear-related facilities and weapons sites.

Overnight, Iran launched two missile barrages at Israel, triggering air raid sirens across the country and sending millions to shelters. Security officials said several missiles were intercepted, while others sparked fires. There were no reports of casualties, according to emergency services.

The current hostilities began with Israeli airstrikes on Iran on June 13. Nearly 600 people have been killed in Iran and 24 in Israel since the aerial conflict erupted, according to official figures.

EU needs greater independence on Iran-Israel conflict: scholar

U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday, pulling back from record highs set a day earlier, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new 35 percent tariff on goods imported from Canada and warned of even broader tariff hikes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 279.13 points, or 0.63 percent, to 44,371.51. The Standard and Poor's 500 sank 20.71 points, or 0.33 percent, to 6,259.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 45.14 points, or 0.22 percent, to 20,585.53.

Nine of the 11 primary Standard and Poor's 500 sectors ended in red, with financials and health leading the laggards by losing 1.00 percent and 0.88 percent, respectively. Energy and consumer discretionary led the gainers by going up 0.48 percent and 0.33 percent, respectively.

Trump justified the higher duties on Canada by citing fentanyl concerns and warned the tariffs could go even higher if Canada retaliates.

In an interview with NBC News, the president said he is considering blanket tariffs of 15 percent to 20 percent on all remaining U.S. trading partners, which is significantly above the 10 percent level investors had largely come to expect.

Markets are also watching for further trade developments, particularly with the European Union. While traders anticipate an update from Trump on EU negotiations, it is unclear whether he will impose new tariffs, as he did with Canada, or simply signal progress in ongoing deal talks.

The tech sector, which has helped propel the market to recent highs, was mixed on Friday.

Nvidia shares rose 0.5 percent, extending gains after the artificial intelligence chipmaker became the first company ever to close with a market cap above 4 trillion U.S. dollars.

Amazon added more than 1 percent as its Prime Day sales event wrapped up, while Tesla and Alphabet also climbed more than 1 percent.

Microsoft ticked higher, while Apple and Broadcom edged lower.

Meta Platforms fell 1.34 percent on Friday, one day after reports surfaced that the company had offered a compensation package exceeding 200 million dollars in an attempt to lure away Apple's top executive overseeing artificial intelligence models.

Bond markets reacted to the tariff developments as well, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.42 percent from 4.35 percent at Thursday's close, reflecting increased uncertainty about inflation and interest rate policy.

Looking ahead, investors will turn their attention to next week's start of the second-quarter earnings season and key inflation data releases, both of which could shape the Federal Reserve's next moves.

U.S. stocks close lower to end week