Specs of Fortress Buster missile Iran uses to strike fear into hearts of terrorists

Iran fired four new Kheibar Shekan (‘Castle Buster’ or ‘Fortress Buster’) ballistic missiles from Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran toward jihadist-controlled Idlib province in Syria on Monday, with the missiles traveling at least 1,230 km to reach their target. That's the furthest Iran's missiles have ever flown in combat. The missiles’ targets? Jihadist bases and training centers used to plot terror attacks against Iran.

The Kheibar Shekan is among the deadliest long-range strike means in Iran’s arsenal, with Monday’s operation confirming the country’s capabilities in the eyes of regional adversaries and the United States.

Here are the missile’s characteristics.

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The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that a US-owned bulk carrier was struck by Yemen's Houthis in the Gulf of Aden.

"At approximately 8:30 pm (Sanaa time) Jan. 17, an assessed one-way attack UAV [drone] was launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen and struck M/V Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden. M/V Genco Picardy is a Marshall Islands-flagged, US-owned and operated bulk carrier ship," CENTCOM said via the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.

The ship remained seaworthy and continued its trip with no injuries, but some material damage was reported, CENTCOM said.

The Houthis vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip. This led US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to announce the creation of a multinational operation to "secure navigation in the Red Sea".

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Russian air defenses intercepted Ukrainian aircraft-type drones over the Moscow and Leningrad regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

“At about 1:30 a.m. Moscow time [2230 GMT Wednesday], an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles on facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped. Air defense systems on duty destroyed one unmanned aerial vehicle over the Moscow Region and intercepted another one over the Leningrad Region,” the ministry said.

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❗️ Sputnik has exposed a number of foreign mercenaries fighting for the Kiev regime:

▪️ Macer Gifford, an ex-UK officer serving as a part of 131st Recon Battalion known as Vidmak.

▪️ Richard Woodruff, hailing from the UK, is involved in constructing drones and delivering them to Ukrainian soldiers.

▪️ Ryan O'Leary, a former Iowa National Guard, is now commanding a mercenary group called "Chosen Company" in the Ukrainian army near Avdeevka.

▪️ Denis Desyatnik, a former IDF special forces officer, was regularly presented in the Ukrainian media as a lieutenant colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine.

▪️ Ethan Hertweck, a US mercenary eliminated in Avdeevka, came to Ukraine as an instructor with Trident Defense Initiative.

▪️ Ariah Ben Yehudah, a retired Israeli police officer, decided to join the Ukrainian army's Foreign Legion unit in March 2022.

▪️ Alex Gallant, a Canadian mercenary, military instructor and CEO of PMC ‘Universal Guardian,’ has been training IDF troops in Israel, as of November.

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❗️ The United States has launched new strikes on the Houthi positions in Yemen, CBS reported citing a US official.

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The United States coerces France and Germany to sink money into Ukraine’s failing military effort as internal dysfunction has undermined American aid to the country, two foreign affairs analysts told Sputnik.

“When the Americans set up their bases in Germany and decided to somehow, in one way or another, occupy Germany to stay there in order to make sure that Germany will not emerge as a superpower on the continent, they exercised a very huge influence over this country,” analyst Adriel Kasonta explained.

Although the conflict and accompanying sanctions on Russia have greatly damaged their economies, expert Gilbert Doctorow also stressed that leaders have bought into Western narratives of their self righteous struggle too thoroughly to back down now.

“Their control of their own domestic politics will be greatly compromised if they turn their back on the Ukraine propaganda narrative they have been promoting for the past two years,” Doctorow emphasized.

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From Yemen to Syria: A complex web of US military bases in MidEast

The US military's presence in the Middle East, with over 50,000 personnel across various bases, is crucial for operations in the region. These bases provide essential support for surveillance and rapid deployment. While serving as key strategic points for American interests in the region, they also generate controversy and contribute to current regional tensions.

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❗️ The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday that the United States military has carried out strikes on 14 Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired at "any time" in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen and presented an "imminent threat" to merchant vessels and US navy ships in the region.

"In the context of ongoing multi-national efforts to protect freedom of navigation and prevent attacks on U.S. and partner maritime traffic in the Red Sea, on Jan. 17 at approximately 6 p.m. (EST) [23:00 GMT], U.S. Central Command forces conducted strikes on 14 Iran-backed Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting U.S. forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves," CENTCOM said on X (formerly Twitter).

CENTCOM added that the US strikes "will degrade the Houthi’s capabilities to continue their reckless attacks on international and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden."

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Former Ukrainian diplomat Andrii Telizhenko says Ukraine is on the brink of a coup against President Volodymyr Zelensky as people are fed up with his despotic governance and the country’s defeat on the battlefield.

“This is a heartbreak for me as a Ukrainian, to say that we might lose our country because of the people who are in the government today in Ukraine,” he said, “the regime which is killing its own people who want to fight for peace… throwing them to the front lines against Russia, one of the strongest armies in the world and a nuclear country.”

Telizhenko claimed that people both in Ukraine and Washington would welcome a coup against the failed leader, although he fears such a development could lead the country to civil war. He added that the Ukraine conflict would only be ended by negotiations between Russia and the United States but lamented that Ukrainians would continue to die until US domestic politics allows such discussions to take place.

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The next International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS) at Russia's Zhukovsky International Airport, which was rescheduled from 2023 to a later period, is preliminary scheduled for July 23-28, 2024, several sources close to the event have told Sputnik.

MAKS-2023 was canceled in June 2023 and rescheduled to a yet unknown date.

"[The dates] discussed are July 23-28, 2024," one of the sources familiar with the matter said.

MAKS takes place in Zhukovsky, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Russia's capital, Moscow, every two years.

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“I think this follows through with what Russia's said all along,” said retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Earl Rasmussen after news broke that a number of French mercenaries were hit by a Russian strike in Kharkov Tuesday. “If you're going to be part of the Ukrainian force, you need to be considered that you're going to be treated as a combatant, and there shouldn't be any hesitation on that.”

Rasmussen said some Ukrainian mercenaries may be former soldiers while others may be “special forces” fighters assisting Ukraine “off the books.” Additionally he believes at least several hundred and potentially several thousand NATO advisors are in the country.

The analyst notes that biased Western coverage may help convince mercenaries to join Ukraine, saying, “when you hear about the government there… where there's no elections, there's no free press, there's no opposition parties, opposition leaders… the truth gets out that may cause people to have second thoughts.”

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❗️ Explosions heard in several districts in Iran's Saravan region, Sistan and Balochistan provinces on the border with Pakistan, Deputy Governor said.

According to multiple reports, the strikes appear to be a retaliation for Iran's attacks, and are the first on the Iranian territory since the Iran-Iraq war.

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❗️ As a result of this incident, three women and four children who were not Iranian citizens were killed, Iranian State TV and Radio said, citing the Deputy Governor of Sistan and Baluchestan for Security