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Good morning. It's Monday, March 9, and this is the Brussels Playbook podcast.

The vibe in Brussels today is irritated. At least that's the feeling we're getting from

the diplomats, EU officials and

lawmakers we've spoken to over the past week, who are frustrated by what they describe as an

overreach by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in response to the war in Iran.

Also on the pod, ministers are sitting down in Brussels to discuss the continent's housing crisis

and a slew of public transport hiccups in Brussels could make life more difficult for those who commute. But what else is new? With me today, it's Nick Vinnacle, Politico's chief foreign affairs correspondent. Hey, Nick, how's your weekend being? It's been good so far. I'm back in the gym, Zoya, so watch out.

Oh, and it's not even a New Year's resolution. I love that. New spring cleaning for the body. Well done.

We're getting ready for the summer.

The summer bod. It's happening, guys. I was moving all weekend, Nick, so I feel like that's almost as good as going to the gym. That's what I keep telling myself. You got your workout at him. That's what counts. All right, Nick, let's get to our

first story today. The Iran conflict is entering its second week. And last night, we actually heard

there's a new Iranian Supreme Leader. It's Muchtaba Khomeini, the son of Ali Khomeini, who was killed

by the US and Israel in their strikes at the start of this war. And now the US and Israel have said

that actually, this guy isn't going to last very long either, because he is a priority target in this

war as well. Meanwhile, in the EU, the European Council President Antonio Kosta, together with Ursula von der Leyen,

the Commission President, they're convening a video conference with leaders from Middle Eastern

countries on the war.

Nick, what are we going to expect to come out of that?

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