What's at stake for Europe if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked?
Thousands of pride parade attendees took to the streets in Vienna, Warsaw, Rome and Athens on Saturday, waving rainbow flags and holding up signs of protest as they celebrated pride month, while also demanding political and social equality for the LGBTQ+ community in their respective countries.
Warsaw's pride parade went through the city centre and headed through the Old Town. The "Equality Parade" began on Saturday afternoon, and was attended by thousands of demonstrators.
Under the slogan "Love is the answer", the event's organisers expressed the hope that they could help others to express their LGBTQ+ identity openly and without fear.
"We don't want to talk about such matters somewhere underground, we don't want to hide in basements - we come to the surface to talk about it," said Rafał Dembe, president of the Equality Volunteering Foundation at a press conference ahead of the march.
During the conference, the organisers said that the demonstration in Warsaw is the largest of its kind in the country.
Among the most notable attendees of the parade were mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski, who recently found himself on the losing side of the country's presidential election, member of the European Parliament Robert Biedroń and Minister of Equality Katarzyna Kotula.
Four days earlier, Kotula submitted a bill to parliament to introduce civil partnerships, including for same-sex couples.
Speaking to the crowd at the start of the parade, Trzaskowski said "Remember that I have been saying for many years that together we are building Warsaw, which is an open and tolerant city, where these values are not only appreciated but also promoted."
Braving the scorching hot 35 degree weather, thousands of people walked the city of Rome from Piazza della Repubblica to Via Cavour to participate in the Italian capital's pride march. Three motorcyclists with roaring engines kicked off the parade. Right behind them was the leader of the parade, holding a large banner with the word "Outlaw", written on it. The banner is in protest of what organisers see as the conservative incumbent government's lack of support for LGBTQ+ rights.
Among those taking part in the demonstration were the spokesperson of the Capitoline parade, Mario Colamarino, and the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri.
''We are here for the rights of all, to have a more inclusive and equal Italy, better than the one we have now. 'Outlaws' is what we are in this country today, we must fight and we must be many," said Colamarino.
The event in Rome was held not only to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride, but also to protest the ongoing conflict in Gaza, for which a one-minute silence was held. Many Palestinian flags and banners were waved alongside rainbow flags, as people chanted slogans for free love and equality. Along with house and pop music, the Italian partisan anthem "Bella Ciao" was also sung by the demonstrators.
A float satirically depicting Hungarian Prime Miniser Viktor Orban - whose government was last week denied a request to hold a pride march in Budapest - was also rolled out, an initiative by the Italian +Europa party.
"Today, more than ever, it is important to attend pride at a time when in the world there are autocracies, illiberal democracies, fundamentalist regimes that attack civil rights and individual freedoms in Hungary, as well as in Russia and Trump's United States, where some words, such as 'gay', are banned on institutional websites", said the party's secretary, Riccardo Magi.
2025 marks the 20th year since the first Athens Pride was held, and this year's slogan is "We Count". This has a double meaning in Greek - the phrase can either mean "we matter", but can also mean to take stock of something. The latter is in reference to recollecting everything that has happened since June 2005, when the first Athens pride parade was held.
According to the organisers, this includes joy, such as the pride and liberation of the first years, losses due to hate and homophobic attacks, victories such as same-sex civic union and marriage, but also disappointment such as the stigma that remains, as well as the fight for visibility and rights.
"Now, more than ever, the global context shows us that no acquis (law) can be taken for granted. Instead, our rights and our very existence are being challenged every day. The rise of the far right and the normalisation of hate speech in political and media discourse are a threat to all of us. The exclusion of LGBTQ+ refugees and migrants is intensifying, leading to the exclusion of people on the basis of racist, sexist, homophobic and/or transphobic motives," the organisers say on their website.
"For all this, our presence in the public space will continue to be our undeniable right, a historical duty and an act of resistance against a public discourse of abuse that seeks to erase us. The struggle for equality is ongoing and remains unabated. We are and will be here to keep them going," the organisers say on their website.
Pride month is celebrated in Athens with a variety of cultural events, screenings, performances, parties, shows, panel discussions, workshops and seminars, many of point to the now 20-year history of pride in the Greek capital, with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives also taking centre stage.
Revolutionary Guard commander Sardar Esmail Kowsari told local media in an interview closing the Strait of Hormuz "is under consideration, and Iran will make the best decision with determination."
"Our hands are wide open when it comes to punishing the enemy, and the military response was only part of our overall response," added Kowsari, who is a member of parliament in addition to his military position.
Iran's short- and medium-range missiles would be capable of targeting oil infrastructure platforms, pipelines in the Strait, or even attacking commercial vessels, and surface-to-surface missiles could target tankers or ports along the Gulf. Airstrikes using aircraft and drones could disable navigation or radar equipment at major shipping ports in the region.
Unmanned drones like Iran's Shahed models could potentially be used to attack specific shipping lanes or infrastructure in the Strait. Iran could attempt to deploy warships to physically block access to the Strait. In 2012, Iran launched a cyberattack on Saudi Arabia's oil industry, showing its growing capability in this domain.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most strategically vital chokepoints in the world, and any blockade by Iran would pose serious risks for Europe.
Blocking the Strait was one of four Iranian responses to the conflict including terrorist acts on mainland Europe which security expert Claude Moniquet cited in an interview with Euronews.
It would be 'a disaster for Europe', the former French intelligence office said.
Here are some of the reasons why.
Roughly 20% of global oil and a significant portion of natural gas pass through the Strait. Europe imports oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Gulf states Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE much of which travels through the Strait. If Iran blocks it, global oil prices would spike, and Europe could face energy shortages, especially in countries dependent on Middle Eastern fuel.
A sudden oil price surge would increase inflation, energy costs, and disrupt industries across Europe. Manufacturing, transport, and agriculture sectors would be especially vulnerable. Market reactions and volatility in European stock exchanges could be a knock-on effect.
A blockade could trigger military confrontations involving the US, EU navies, and Gulf states, risking a broader regional war. Europe might be drawn into the conflict through NATO obligations or alliances, especially with countries like France or the UK maintaining naval presence in the region.
Beyond oil, the Strait is a key route for global shipping. Disruption could delay European imports of raw materials, electronics, and consumer goods, affecting supply chains. Insurance premiums for shipping could spike, raising costs for European businesses and consumers.
At least three people have been injured and 100 tonnes of humanitarian aid were destroyed after a Russian drone strike on a warehouse in Ukraine's southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia in the early hours of Saturday.
The injured were two police officers and a civilian, according to local officials. The damage from the strike is estimated at around $3 million. The aid was set to be provided to people who were internally displaced, as well as to residents in frontline areas of the war.
Shops, a multi-storey building and a public transport stop were also reportedly damaged in the attack.
Oleksandr Beluga, founder of the NGO Beluga UA, told local media ""Now everything has been destroyed, two days ago we received help from 5 trucks. There is approximately $3 million worth of damage here."
Aside from Zaporizhzhia, the regions of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Dnipro were also targeted in an attack which consisted of a total of 58 Shahedattack UAVs, as well as various types of imitation drones, reported the Ukrainian air force.
43 were neutralised, they said, with 23 being shot down and 20 having their signals jammed.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military also reported that it had carried out overnight drone strikes targeting two Russian chemical plants that were tied to the production of explosives.
"As part of efforts to reduce (Russia's) ability to produce explosives and ammunition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' drone systems, in coordination with other Defense Forces units, struck critical facilities of Russia's military-industrial complex overnight," said Ukraine's General Staff.
The chemical plants were reportedly located in Stavropol Krai and Samara Oblast. Both were identified as major suppliers of raw materials and components for the production of Russia's weapons and fuel.
The Stavropol governor confirmed the strike, saying that drone debris had landed in the city's industrial zone.
On Friday, the bodies of 1,200 soldiers were returned to Ukraine as part of an agreement reached between Russia and Ukraine during their 2 June peace talks in Istanbul.
Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War released a statement saying that Russia returned 1,200 bodies, and 'according to the Russian side, the bodies belong to Ukrainian citizens, in particular military personnel.'
It was the only tangible achievement of the Istanbul talks, with 1,212 bodies also being returned by Russia earlier this week, with 27 dead soldiers going the other way.
The two sides conducted a prisoners of war swap on Thursday, which included badly wounded and gravely ill captives. Their numbers were not disclosed, however.
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