MOSCOW, March 2. /TASS/. The main European stock indices are declining by up to 2%, according to trading data. The downturn may be linked to the escalation in the Middle East.

As of 11:18 a.m. Moscow time, the benchmark CAC 40 index in Paris was down 2.14% at 8,396 points. At the same time, the key DAX index in Frankfurt was trading at 24,698 points, falling 2.28%.

The UK’s main index, as of 11:20 a.m. Moscow time, was losing 0.79% at 10,824 points. Italy’s Milano Italia Borsa Index was down 2.32% at 46,121 points, while Spain’s benchmark Spain 35 SPOT index was declining 2.07% to 17,821 points. Meanwhile, the STOXX index of European aerospace and defense companies fell 2.51% to 5,985 points.

The United States and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. At the same time, US leadership openly called on the Iranian population to rise up against their government and seize power.

As a result of the strikes, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several other senior figures in the leadership of the Islamic Republic were killed.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were also hit.