The Iranian strikes on Erbil killed Peshrav Dizeyi, a Kurdish businessman who owned the largest residential complexes in Iraq's second largest city, according to the media. He, his wife, and two other members of his family were reportedly killed.

First footage from the scene of an IRGC missile hitting terrorist headquarters in Iraqi Kurdistan.

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“I can hear those champagne bottle corks popping in Moscow – like it’s Christmas every f***ing day,” said a European diplomat to US media recently. The envoy discussed the decline of America’s influence as domestic political chaos threatens the country’s ability to lead on foreign affairs.

A dozen current and former ambassadors agreed, suggesting global leaders are coming around to Russia’s long standing position on the capricious and self-serving nature of the US’ engagement with the world.

Last year’s House speakership battle and threats of a government shutdown have undermined the US’ ability to engage internationally in the midst of major world conflicts.

The trend is likely to create opportunities for Russia, China, and the BRICS economic bloc to provide leadership in an increasingly multipolar world.

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❗️ The Russian air defense systems on duty repelled a Ukrainian drone attack on the city of Voronezh, regional Governor Alexander Gusev said.

The Russian air defenses shot down three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the Voronezh region, the Russian Defense Ministry stated.

According to the governor, a 10-year-old girl was injured as a result of the drone crash - she suffered cut wounds to her arm, leg, and neck. First aid was administered on the spot.

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🇷🇺🇰🇵 North Korean delegation's Russia visit spurred by ‘changing geopolitical climate’

The current visit of the North Korean delegation led by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui to Moscow is further evidence of progress in development of Russia’s relations with the DPRK, Artyom Lukin, Professor of the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, told Sputnik.

“More specifically, I would suggest that the visit may be aimed at preparing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang. As you know, he received such an invitation from Kim Jong Un last year,” he said.

The year 2024 could demonstrate “real trade flows between the DPRK and Russia,” said the pundit, adding that the current level of relations between Russia and North Korea reflects the overall geopolitical situation in the world.

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Poland has a beef with the European Union leadership over Ukrainian agriculture.

The country’s new agriculture minister under Prime Minister Donald Tusk has protested the bloc’s liberalized trade policy with Ukraine since 2022, claiming it’s undermined Polish farmers by flooding the country with cheap food. Nevertheless, the EU leadership has signaled that they plan to continue the policy for another year despite the consequences for Poland and other Central European countries.

Truckers staged a demonstration at the Poland-Ukraine border last year over the issue and have been joined by farmers protesting government policy recently in Germany and the Netherlands.

Ukraine has moved in the direction of closer association with the EU since 2014’s US-backed Euromaidan coup prevented the country from joining a Russia-led trade bloc.

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Biden puts not only Gonzalo Lira, but every American in danger

American citizen Gonzalo Lira's death in Ukrainian custody should become a wakeup call to all American voters prior to the 2024 elections, Wall Street analyst and investigative journalist Charles Ortel told Sputnik.

"Watching Zelensky suspend elections, jail his political opponents, suppress religion and now allegedly torture and then cause an American journalist to rot and die in prison for questioning Biden/Nuland war policies, one has to know that America’s foreign policies are wholly inconsistent with our founders’ ideals and, arguably in the case of Ukraine especially, impeachable offenses," Ortel said.

Lira's case is just one example of Joe Biden's disastrous foreign policy that puts Americans in jeopardy not only in Ukraine but elsewhere in the world, Ortel warned, citing the unfolding Middle Eastern crisis.

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A state of emergency has been declared in Voronezh after the Ukrainian drone attack, city's mayor Vadim Kstenin said.

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❗️ Former US President Donald Trump has secured victory on Monday night in the Iowa caucuses with 52% of the vote, based on the 40,000 ballots counted so far.

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The Chinese foreign minister met with Arab League nations over the weekend, releasing a joint statement calling for a ceasefire and long-term resolution of the Palestine-Israel conflict.

The leaders advocated the implementation of relevant resolutions passed by the United Nations and a global peace conference to resolve the long running crisis.

The statement also criticized recent US and UK strikes on Yemen, which Chinese media characterized as an “escalation” of tensions and an attempt to distract from the fundamental nature of the conflict.

“The US, which is pouring fuel on the fire in the Israel-Palestine conflict, also wants to play the role of fireman… but in fact, the US is responsible for the conflict,” read an article in Chinese media.

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Vivek Ramaswamy bows out of 2024 race, endorses Trump

GOP long-shot presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has announced that he is bowing out of the race to the White House.

The US entrepreneur who has said that the Ukraine conflict does not advance US interests and only heightens the risks of a world war plans to throw his support behind Donald Trump.

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💥 Ukrainian armored vehicle blows up after being hit by guided missile

An enemy armored vehicle was discovered by Russian reconnaissance at a distance of 7,800 meters. A precise hit with a Kornet ATGM missile destroyed it along with its crew.

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🇰🇵🇰🇷 The North Korean Supreme People's Assembly has decided to abolish government bodies dealing with inter-Korean affairs, North Korean state-run news agency KCNA reported on Tuesday.

"The reunification of Korea can never be achieved with the Republic of Korea … Recognizing the stark historical reality and branding the ROK as the state most hostile to the DPRK, the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK decided as follows … The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Administration, tools which existed for north-south dialogue, negotiations and cooperation, are abolished," the Supreme People's Assembly said in a statement, as quoted by the news agency.

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“Ten-year-old girls and the balconies of sleeping Voronezh high-rise buildings are the goals that Ukraine sets for itself on the way to its Euro-Atlantic future. All the more just is our goal that Ukraine does not have this future,” said Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Russia Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, commenting on the Ukrainian drone attack on Russian Voronezh.

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❗️ What is known about Iranian IRGC strikes on targets in Iraq:

▪️Local authorities reported four dead and six injured. The media writes that one of the dead is Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayi and members of his family.

▪️ Iran's IRGC claimed responsibility for ballistic attacks on Erbil, Iraq. Anti-Iranian terrorist group bases were destroyed, the statement said.

▪️The IRGC also claims that a missile strike hit the Israeli intelligence headquarters and that it was destroyed.

▪️ The US will continue to assess the situation after strikes in Erbil, calling it a “reckless and imprecise set of strikes,” the White House said.

▪️ The US is in touch with senior Iraqi officials, as well as officials in the Kurdistan region following the missile attacks, the White House said.

▪️ According to the US administration, no US facilities or citizens were harmed during the attacks on Erbil.

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Iran ‘emboldened’ to attack Erbil by US, UK strikes on Houthis

Iran was “emboldened’ to attack Iraqi Kurdistan’s capital of Erbil after the US and UK carried out strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, Michael Maloof, former senior security policy analyst at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, told Sputnik.

This “major escalation” in the region now puts the US “in the position of having to fight a five-front war: Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Syria,” Maloof noted.

Washington is now going to have to reap the consequences for “supporting Israel in a genocide” that continues in Gaza, the expert said. He also warned that Iran could retaliate further if there is any attack by the US directly, by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

“So this is probably going to be the next level, and then the US will further respond, most likely by hitting oil refineries, and this will create a total escalation. This is a total prenoscription for disaster, and United States needs to stop it immediately,” Michael Maloof urged.

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Iran's strike on Erbil ‘calculated demonstration of missile abilities’

Iran's attack on Iraqi Kurdistan’s capital of Erbil and Syria was a “calculated move” in response to the twin explosions in Kerman that killed more than 80 Iranians about a week ago, Mehran Kamrava, professor of Government at Georgetown University Qatar, told Sputnik.

The strike by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was the longest-range missile attack that Iran has engaged in - about 1,200 kilometers, Professor Kamrava clarified.

“It was a deliberate demonstration by Iran to make sure that its missile abilities are known and that it is known that Iran can hit its adversaries at long distances and do so with tremendous accuracy and precision,” Kamrava said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran's IRGC took responsibility for attacks on Erbil. It claimed that it targeted bases of anti-Iranian terrorist groups with several ballistic missiles “in response to the recent terrorist attacks by Iran's enemies, spy headquarters and enemy headquarters of anti-Iran terrorist groups in parts of the Middle East region.”

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🇰🇵 Kim Jong-un says North Korea is building up its forces for self-defense, not unification.

Unification with South Korea is impossible, since it strives for “collapse of our government” and “unification by absorption,” the North Korean leader said.

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❗️ IRGC strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan carried out to protect sovereignty and security, Iranian Foreign Ministry said

“These actions were taken in accordance with Iran's strong intentions, which include protecting the country's sovereignty and security and countering terrorism. This was part of the fair punishment of violators of the country's security," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.

“While the enemy miscalculated and committed a crime against the government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic, with its extensive intelligence network, through a precise and targeted operation, identified the headquarters of the criminals and used precise weapons. This was part of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s response to those who are taking actions against Iran's national security and the safety of Iranian citizens," he added.