Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to take questions Wednesday from international journalists on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Putin scheduled a roundtable session with senior news leaders of international news agencies, including The Associated Press. Among other issues, he's expected to spell out Moscow's position on the conflict between Israel and Iran that he offered to help mediate in a weekend call with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Russia poses a direct threat to the European Union through acts of sabotage and cyberattacks, but its massive military spending suggests that President Vladimir Putin also plans to use his armed forces elsewhere in the future, the EU's top diplomat warned on Wednesday.

"Russia is already a direct threat to the European Union," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. She listed a series of Russian airspace violations, provocative military exercises, and attacks on energy grids, pipelines and undersea cables.

Iran’s ambassador in Geneva derided as “hostile” and “unwarranted” U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments calling for Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”

Ambassador Ali Bahreini told reporters the Israeli campaign “has not been able to bring big damage to our nuclear facilities” because it had taken precautions to protect them.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday the nation would never surrender as demanded by President Donald Trump and warned the United States it would face "irreparable damage" if it intervenes in support of its ally.

The speech came six days into the conflict, with Trump demanding Iran's "unconditional surrender" while boasting the United States could kill Khamenei and fueling speculation about a possible intervention.

U.S. President Donald Trump met his National Security Council on Tuesday to discuss the Iran-Israel war, the White House said, as the U.S. leader considered whether to join Israel's air campaign against Tehran.

U.S. President Donald Trump met with his national security team in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday to make decisions about U.S. policy towards the war between Israel and Iran, three U.S. officials told U.S. news portal Axios.

U.S. President Donald Trump dramatically stepped up his rhetoric against Iran's supreme leader Tuesday, saying on social media that the United States knows where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is located but will not kill him "for now."

In another post, Trump also appeared to demand Iran's "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" as he fueled questions about whether the United States would join Israel's attacks on Tehran's leadership and nuclear facilities.

Six weeks after Spain and Portugal suffered a massive power outage, authorities in Madrid issued an official report Tuesday, saying April's cascading blackout that left tens of millions disconnected in seconds was caused by technical and planning errors that led to the grid's failure.

Spain's Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen, who manages the nation's energy policy, said in a press conference that small grid failures, concentrated in the south of Spain, led to a chain reaction among larger ones, while completely ruling out questions about a cyberattack.

President Donald Trump in about eight hours went from suggesting a nuclear deal with Iran remained "achievable" to urging Tehran's 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his visit to an international summit to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team.

Trump arrived at the White House early Tuesday at a moment of choosing in his presidency. Israel, with five days of missile strikes, has done considerable damage to Iran and believes it can now deal a permanent blow to Tehran's nuclear program — particularly if it gets a little more help from the Republican president.

Israel stunned and hobbled Iran last week when it pulled off an intelligence and military operation years in the making that struck high-level targets with precision.

Guided by spies and artificial intelligence, the Israeli military unleashed a nighttime fusillade of warplanes and armed drones smuggled into Iran to quickly incapacitate many of its air defenses and missile systems. With greater freedom to fly over Iran, Israel bombarded key nuclear sites and killed top generals and scientists. By the time Iran mustered a response hours later, its ability to retaliate — already weakened by past Israeli strikes — was greatly diminished.