US sanctions 'unlikely to get Tehran to bow down' despite effect on population

Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Samantha de Bendern, Associate Fellow at Chatham House, author, and political risk and financial consultant. Europe is taking increasingly consequential steps to support Ukraine, but de Bendern warns that they remain insufficient to address the country's fundamental vulnerability. The transfer of interceptor missiles and the prospect of producing Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles domestically represent significant shifts, particularly as US Patriot stocks become increasingly constrained. Yet the larger question is whether Ukraine's allies are prepared to move beyond supplying weapons towards actively helping to protect Ukrainian airspace. That debate reaches back to the earliest weeks of the full-scale invasion: even after President Biden warned in 2022 of an imminent Russian attack, Kyiv's allies ruled out enforcing a no-fly zone, fearing that direct engagement between NATO and Russian forces could escalate into a wider war with Moscow.

The US says it is preparing to announce new sanctions on Iran. It's been billed an economic D-day and is expected to add further pressure on the country's economy that's already been battered from previous sanctions and a US naval blockade. The renewed economic pressure would not be the first time the US has used economic tools at its disposal to corner Iran. But what could the new measures likely entail?

French centre-left politician Raphael Glucksmann announced his candidacy for France's presidential election next year, joining a crowded field of far-right figures, centrists and fellow left-wingers. Hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon is planning to stand while Greens leader Marine Tondelier is campaigning while pregnant, socialist Party (PS) leader Olivier Faure and even possibly ex-president Francois Hollande are also mulling runs.