March 2, 2026

A roundup of domestic and world news

Newsroom, 02.03.2026, 13:55

Meeting – The Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan has called a meeting today on the situation of Romanian citizens stranded in the area bordering Iran due to the conflict in the Middle East. The meeting will be attended by deputy prime ministers and representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Transport, Economy, Defense and Finance. On Sunday, the FM, Oana Ţoiu, asked Romanian citizens in the conflict zone to send their contact details to consular offices, with over 1,600 requests for assistance having been registered so far, excluding the United Arab Emirates. A first group of 300 Romanians, evacuated from Israel through Egypt, will arrive in the country this evening on two aircraft, the TAROM airline announced. President Nicuşor Dan has declared that Romania is completely safe and is not under any direct threat in the regional security context in the Middle East, and the current priority is the safety of Romanian citizens in conflict zones.

Prosecutor Office – The Romanian Justice Minister, Radu Marinescu, has today announced the proposals for the leadership of the General Prosecutor’s Office, the National Anticorruption Directorate and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism in Bucharest (DIICOT). 19 candidates have registered for the most important positions in the judicial system. The selection, which took place last week, targeted the positions of Prosecutor General, Chief Prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate and DIICOT, respectively, along with their deputies. The proposals of the Justice Minister will be sent to the Superior Council of Magistracy for an advisory opinion, with the final decision belonging to the President of Romania.

Campaign – Radio Romania has today launched the national awareness campaign “Stay Safe on the Net”, a journalistic and educational initiative dedicated to the safety of minors in cyberspace, and also to parents and teachers. The project will bring into debate the real risks of the internet, from tragic viral challenges to harassment and digital addiction, aiming to correctly inform adolescents about the dangers they are exposed to on social networks. The campaign will take place on all Radio Romania frequencies and in the virtual environment, and throughout its duration, the studios of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation stations will have as guests pediatric psychologists and psychiatrists, cybercrime specialists from the Romanian Police, artificial intelligence experts and responsible content creators.

Iran – The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, has declared today that the Islamic Republic will not negotiate with the US, after some information appeared in the public space that seemed to indicate a certain availability of Tehran for talks with Washington, the press agencies report. ‘Trump has thrown the region into chaos with his illusory dreams and is now worried about the new losses among the American forces’ added the Iranian official, in a reaction to a piece of information posted by the Al Jazeera television channel. This, citing the Wall Street Journal, had reported on an alleged initiative by Larijani to resume talks with Washington. Iran continues to be bombed since, on Saturday, the US and Israel coordinated a joint attack in which the Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and other senior government officials in Tehran were killed. The Islamic Republic responded with a wave of missile and drone attacks on Israel, as well as on US allies in the region that host US military bases, such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Several explosions were heard on Monday in Jerusalem, where sirens were sounded after the army announced that Iranian missiles had been fired at Israel, AFP reported. On the other hand, the Israeli army said it had begun a new wave of airstrikes targeting the Hezbollah group in Lebanon, after ordering the evacuation of dozens of towns in the south of the country and bombarding the capital Beirut in response to an offensive by the Shiite group against northern Israel.

Oil – At this moment, there is no reason for the price of fuel in Romania to reach 10 lei per liter given the conflict in the Middle East, said the Energy Minister, Bogdan Ivan. He labeled the statements on this subject as speculation and specified that an increase of more than 3-5 bani at the pump is not justified. The minister added that Romania is prepared with the deposits existing across the country and with the emergency ones that can be delivered in exceptional situations to maintain a stable price for gasoline and diesel. The declaration comes in the context in which Brent crude oil for April delivery rose by 14% at the opening of Asian exchanges, reaching 82.37 dollars per barrel, its highest since January 2025, while U.S. crude oil also reported a two-digit rise, Reuters writes. After the initial jump, prices gave up some of their early gains but are still up about 6% from Friday night. The sharp rise comes after Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran over the weekend. Iran responded with counterattacks and restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key point for global energy trade. About a fifth of the world’s daily oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and any disruption could push energy prices higher and disrupt global markets, Reuters notes.

Inflation – The National Bank of Romania (BNR) announced that it expects inflation to rise to around 10% in June and then fall to 4% in December. According to the BNR, inflation is expected to fall to 2.9%, within the target range, only by the end of next year. The new estimates come less than two weeks after the BNR presented its quarterly report in which the Central Bank revised upwards, to 3.9%, the inflation forecast for the end of this year and predicted that it would reach 2.7% in 2027.

Paris – The French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce today the extension of France’s nuclear umbrella to all of Europe. The French press is already talking about the most important decision of Macron’s second term. Such a decision will in no way involve shifting or dividing the decision to use nuclear weapons, which will remain in the hands of the French president. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has highlighted Europe’s dependence on American protection in terms of defense. Security developments are forcing Europeans to reconsider their nuclear options. France is the only country in the European Union that possesses this weapon. The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has declared himself open to the idea that other states should also benefit from this French power. He confirmed that he has been holding confidential discussions with the French president for some time regarding European nuclear deterrence. (LS)