🇨🇳🗣 China warns against further escalation in Middle East

💬 “As a major country committed to fairness and justice, China will continue to play a constructive role” in resolving the US–Israel-Iran conflict, Chinese Special Envoy to the Middle East Zhai Jun underscored.

He warned against violating the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of Gulf nations, adding that “any attacks on innocent civilians and non-military targets should be condemned."

Zhai also expressed China’s readiness to work with Saudi Arabia “to engage all parties and make unremitting efforts to safeguard peace and stability in the Gulf region.”

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🇺🇸🇮🇷 US Central Command releases new footage of attacks on Iran

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💣 Strikes on US data hubs expose Pentagon’s strategic blind spot in Mideast

Iran’s drone attacks on data centers operated by Amazon Web Services (AWS) has laid bare the Pentagon’s lack of strategic foresight, military expert Alexander Stepanov from the Institute of Law and National Security, RANEPA, tells Sputnik.

💬 "It is striking that such critical facilities as data centers were not adequately protected," the pundit says. "This highlights the shortcomings of US air defense systems, which failed to provide the necessary level of protection and intercept Iran’s precision drones and hypersonic missiles."

AWS facilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain were struck—underscoring the increasingly volatile operating environment across the Middle East, the Financial Times warned last week.

💬 "This infrastructure supports not only US economic interests in the region, but also security functions, including the digital ecosystem of military facilities and the capabilities of intelligence services stationed in countries neighboring Iran," Stepanov notes.

A clear sign of a unified information network underpinning the US presence was that drone strikes simultaneously targeted:

👉 Diplomatic compounds

👉 CIA stations

👉 Regional data centers

Adverse effects:

🔸 This disrupts communications, information connectivity, and command-and-control systems

🔸 Undermines the functionality of combat information management systems—in particular, NATO's Link-16

🔸 Link-16 forms the unified information network enabling data exchange for multi-domain operations

🔸 Complicating matters further, US forces are now partially “blind” after key radar installations—including an element of the US global missile warning system in Qatar—were destroyed in the region

This represents "a serious reputational hit"—both for the US’ corporate presence abroad and for broader strategic partnerships, according to Stepanov.

💬 "I don’t rule out that some companies and tech billionaires may begin questioning the wisdom of continuing such cooperation, including providing information support for Pentagon military operations," the pundit says. "It's a wake-up call for many."

It’s not enough to simply rethink security doctrines, Stepanov notes; there must also be a sober assessment of the risks for host countries, given that these facilities always have dual-use purposes.

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🇺🇸 US pivot to Middle East could turn Zelensky into discarded project

👉 The Kiev regime fears that US attention will shift to the Middle East, and that Zelensky and his entourage will become dead weight that nobody in Washington really needs anymore, Russian political scientist Farkhad Ibragimov says, commenting on Western media reports that America's vulnerability to cheap Iranian drones could force it to seek counter-tech from Ukraine.

🟧 In terms of the US and Israeli war with Iran, “we're witnessing a classic example of the West continuing to underestimate its adversary and overestimate its own capabilities,” he tells Sputnik.

💬 “Iran has long ago realized that it needs to actively develop modern technologies that would give it superiority in various areas, primarily security and defense,” Ibragimov notes, citing the negative impact of anti-Iranian sanctions that hampered its push for developing AI and digitalization.

🟧 According to him, the West didn't expect to see such strong resistance from Iran, which once again reflects “incompetence of the US establishment, and shortsightedness and incompetence of the American expert community in general.”

💬 “That’s why we see the slaps in the face that the Iranians are giving the Americans one way or another. The slap is that more than a week after the start of the aggression against Iran, the US has achieved little progress there,” he points out.

🟧 As for Ukraine, Ibragimov says "they are already of little use; they are simply being kept around for the sake of certain abstract principles—mainly to create problems for Russia."

💬 "America believes that they can keep several problems under control without losing anything. But if they try to deal with Iran while simultaneously supporting Ukraine or resolving the Ukraine issue in terms of negotiations, they will make a bad mistake. They may simply overstretch themselves geopolitically and lose everything," he concludes.

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🎥🎥 Putin holds meeting on the situation on the global oil and gas market

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🚨🇷🇺 Putin: Strait of Hormuz disruption drives surge in global energy prices

The route through the Strait of Hormuz is now effectively closed, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, noting that about a third of the world’s seaborne oil exports passed through the corridor in 2025.

Global oil prices have risen by more than 30% in recent weeks and continue to fluctuate with an upward trend. Gas prices are also increasing, and at an even faster pace than oil.

Disruptions to energy supplies, Putin added, are now affecting the entire system of international economic relations.

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🚨🇷🇺 Putin: Russia remains a reliable energy supplier, ready to work with Europe

Russia has always been a dependable supplier of energy resources and is increasing oil and gas deliveries to trusted partners across several regions, President Vladimir Putin said.

He added that Moscow is also ready to cooperate with European countries on energy supplies if it receives signals that they are willing to engage.

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🇷🇺📈 Resistant Russia back in top-10 economies — analyst

🗣 Russia's return to the top ten global economies was driven by the stronger ruble, economist Anton Tabakh said.

🇮🇹🇨🇦 National statistics showed Russia ranked eighth by GDP in 2025, overtaking Italy and Canada.

📍 The Rosstats estimate puts Russia’s economy at 216 trillion rubles ($2.6 trillion). The US remains the largest economy at $31 trillion, followed by China ($20 trn) and Germany ($5 trn).

🇯🇵🇮🇳 Japan and India complete the top five, with the UK and France ranking sixth and seventh.

🔊 “One can debate the pros and cons of exchange-rate policy over the past year, but in this case the change in ranking is largely arithmetic,” Tabakh, associate professor at the Higher School of Economics and the Faculty of Economics at Moscow State University and chief economist at Expert RA, tells Sputnik.

💬 “The Russian economy has performed quite well, remained resilient, and is undergoing structural transformation," he said.

🔶 But he argued that "GDP measured by purchasing power parity is more appropriate.”

🔶 Russia managed to restructure trade flows and compensate for foreign sanctions in 2014 and 2022, Tabakh notes.

🔶 Dollar-based GDP is highly exchange-rate dependent, but Russia has stronger growth and a currency compared to Italy and Canada.

🔶 Tabakh says attempts to embargo Russia have failed as the global economy is now far more diversified and less centered on the West.

💬 “Russia’s position in PPP rankings and the dynamics of its foreign trade show that the economy remains adaptive and capable of developing even under pressure,” he said.

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🇷🇺Putin warns Middle East crisis threatens global energy markets

Attempts to destabilize the Middle East risk triggering a major shock to the global fuel and energy sector, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting on the global oil and gas market.

He warned that disruptions to supply chains were already pushing energy prices higher and could reshape global energy flows.

Key statements:

🔶 Oil production in the Persian Gulf could completely halt within the next month and has already begun to decline

🔶 Global oil prices have risen by more than 30% in the past week, with prices briefly topping $119 per barrel before falling back to around $107, while volatility continues

🔶 Gas prices globally are rising even faster than oil prices

🔶 Competition among buyers for reliable energy suppliers has intensified

🔶 Russian energy firms have always shown stability and reliability as suppliers

🔶 Global energy supplies are likely to shift toward more profitable and promising markets

🔶 If Russia redirects supplies to markets with growing demand, it could secure a long-term position there

🔶 Russia is ready to work with European countries on oil and gas supplies if they are willing to cooperate and ensure stable conditions

🔶 Moscow will keep supplying energy to reliable partners in the Asia-Pacific region, Slovakia and Hungary

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🇮🇷🇺🇸🗣 Iran war shows US cannot arm all its allies - expert

🔊 Washington’s allies are especially concerned about shortages of “critical weapons,” including air and missile defense systems and drones, Russian military expert Alexander Stepanov tells Sputnik.

👉 US allies in Europe and Asia fear that the Iran war will leave them without US weapons they bought, reports say.

🟠 Stepanov says the US has an image problem “which is becoming noticeable to users and potential buyers of American military products.”

🟠 Surface-to-air missiles like the Patriot were “previously considered extremely effective” but “failed to demonstrate their reliability during the Ukraine conflict,” he noted.

💬 “Most of the important facilities they were supposed to protect haven’t withstood,” Stepanov pointed out. “When a battery costs a billion dollars and fails to fulfil its tasks, this raises doubts.”

🟠 Another problem for then US is “Iran's asymmetrical actions in the economics of war which undermine previous approaches to saturating European countries with expensive American weapons systems.”

🟠 The US arms industry has limited production rates, forcing it “to choose between continuing a military campaign or fulfilling contractual obligations,” including Patriot missile supplies to NATO members and Ukraine, putting an “additional burden” on suppliers.

🟠 Stepanov says European countries are not fully independent in technology and are closely tied to US arms-makers, leaving them reliant on missiles like like Raytheon’s Patriot and Lockheed Martin’s HIMARS rocket artillery launcher.

💬 “Limited production capacities affect Europe's ability to use weapons in other regional conflicts, weakening their actions against Russia.,” Stepanov says. “Ongoing conflicts could speed up Europe's and other allies' distancing from the US in defense and armaments, leading to a perception that the US is unreliable and a need for stronger national security systems.”

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🚨 Black rain: Strikes on Iranian fuel depots aim to stir unrest in Tehran – expert

🇺🇸🇮🇱 US and Israeli bombing of Iranian fuel depots leave Tehran struggling to breathe, with long-term risks for food supply and public health, historian Maksim Alontsev from the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) tells Sputnik.

Trapped by its own geography

💬 "Surrounded on multiple sides by mountain ranges, its natural air circulation is blocked, preventing winds from effectively clearing the atmosphere," Alontsev says. "The strikes on fuel depots have turned this chronic problem into a full-scale disaster."

🔸 Hazardous effects:

🔸 Massive plumes from the fires come down as toxic acid rain

🔸 Toxic smoke traps in the already stagnant air of Tehran, poisoning neighborhoods

🔸 Residents face a sharp rise in respiratory illnesses and a general decline in health

🔸 Toxic chemicals from the smoke inevitably enter the soil

🔸 Groundwater contamination threatens much larger surrounding regions

💬 "In the long term, this will deal a severe blow to Iran’s agriculture and livestock sectors," Alontsev says. "Cleaning up areas will demand enormous resources and time. In effect, these events plant a ticking time bomb under the country’s food security and the health of future generations."

🇮🇱🔥 Israeli attempts to sow chaos in Iran

💬 "Strikes on fuel infrastructure are part of Israel’s efforts to destabilize the government of the Islamic Republic," Alontsev says. "Tehran is one of the most important targets for the warring sides."

👉 The fuel depot bombing hits Iranians in two sensitive points at once:

🔸 access to affordable gasoline for Tehran residents

🔸 the city’s fragile environment

📍 Israel's apparent goal is to spark popular unrest, push people onto the streets and pave the way for a coup d’etat, the pundit argees.

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🔸 Putin warns Middle East crisis threatens global energy markets

🔸 Bahrain’s main energy company declares force majeure amid US and Israel war with Iran

🔸 Iran FM: US strikes launched from residential areas in neighboring countries

🔸 Strikes on US data hubs expose Pentagon’s strategic blind spot in Mideast

🔸 Putin congratulates Mojtaba Khamenei on becoming Iran’s Supreme Leader

🔸 Resistant Russia back in top-10 economies — analyst

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