🚨🇷🇺Putin convenes Security Council to discuss Iran situation

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video conference with permanent members of the Security Council to discuss the situation surrounding Iran, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

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🚨 Over 20 Iranian cities targeted by US and Israeli strikes

Various Iranian provinces have been hit by airstrikes from the US and Israel today, with major cities hit including Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz, Qom, Minab, Ilam, Alborz, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Zahedan, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

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🗣 US-Israel war on Iran risks triggering global economic crisis – expert

Fighting in the Persian Gulf threatens to “strangle” the Strait of Hormuz, a critical bottleneck for the global oil and LNG trade, Lebanese academic and economic observer Dr. Ayman Omar explains to Sputnik.

Oil crisis

🟠 These risks can cause oil prices to spike to up to $100 per barrel, and even to $120 per barrel if a protracted crisis and disruptions in oil production ensue.

🟠 The alternative oil supply routes, such as pipelines from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, simply cannot compensate the oil deficit that would ensue if the Strait of Hormuz is closed, Dr. Omar notes.

🟠 A consistent increase in oil prices could slow down the global economy by 1% and the ensuing inflationary pressure would prompt investors to hoard ‘safe’ assets such as gold to try and save their holdings.

Food crisis

🟠 Iran and other Persian Gulf states play an important role in global petrochemical and fertilizer trade, Dr. Omar points out.

🟠 Therefore, any disruption in supply of these commodities will lead to an increase in agricultural production expenses and in the cost of food production, especially in Asia and Africa.

🟠 Meanwhile, latest media reports indicate that oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has already been halted.

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🚨IRGC Navy strikes US combat support vessel - report

A US combat support vessel (MST) was heavily struck by missiles from the IRGC Navy, Iranian media reports, citing the IRGC Press Service.

According to the statement from the IRGC's press service:

👉The US MST vessel was heavily struck by missiles from the IRGC Navy.

👉Other US naval assets will also be within the strike range of IRGC missiles and drones during further attacks.

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🇮🇱🗣 Israel used World War I tricks to drag US into war with Iran – expert

📍 The Israeli leadership spent three months pressuring Trump and his government into attacking Iran, Qatari foreign relations expert Prof. Ali Al-Kheil tells Sputnik.

🔊 “This reminds me of World War I,” he remarks.

💬 “Back then, the Europeans were pressuring the United States, trying to drag it into the war. And after colossal pressure, the US caved in and entered the war on the Europeans’ side – on April 6, 1917 i.e. three years after the war started. Today, history, in a sense, repeats itself.”

👉 Al-Kheil also argues that being pressured into a war does not serve the interests of either the US or Iran.

💬 “War brings nothing but death and devastation,” he says.

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🚨 Gulf states urge calm amid US-Israel strikes on Iran

🇴🇲 Oman: The Foreign Ministry calls to halt the attacks on Iran and urges a UN Security Council meeting to achieve a ceasefire. Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi also urged the US to stay out of the conflict.

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: The Foreign Ministry confirmed Iranian attacks on Riyadh and the eastern region, stating that the attacks were addressed.

🇦🇪 UAE: The Foreign Ministry condemned the escalation, stating it threatens global security and the economy. The Defense Ministry affirmed the right to respond to Iranian actions amid rising tensions.

🇶🇦 Qatar: Doha called for all parties — Iran, the US, and Israel — to cease escalation and return to negotiations.

🇪🇬 Egypt: Cairo emphasized the need for political solutions, warning that further escalation could plunge the region into chaos.

👉 Earlier, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps confirmed missile and drone strikes on US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and military targets in Israel, among others.

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🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran’s retaliation against US military bases is legitimate self-defense – expert

🟠 Iranian forces do not target Arab states but rather the US forces who conquered these Arab states, head of the Iranian parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Abbas Moghtadaei tells Sputnik.

🟠 Tehran, he explains, warned all regional neighbors that host US military installations beforehand, and observed all norms of international etiquette in this matter.

💬 “Iran’s behavior is in complete adherence with the international law and is considered legitimate self-defense,” says Moghtadaei.

🟠 He also describes the fact that the US is about to assume chairmanship in the US Security Council as a farce, which means that a country that constantly attacks other states and ignores their rights is going to preside over an organization meant to maintain peace and international security.

💬 “Therefore, we believe the US needs to be punished in our region. Every moving and stationary US target is a legitimate target for Iran,” Moghtadaei notes.

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