Despite US perception, Iran does not control Yemeni Houthis

Iran has made it very clear that they will not negotiate on behalf of the Yemeni Houthis, Dr. Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a professor of English literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran, told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour.

“It’s obvious that the Iranians are not going to negotiate on behalf of Yemen,” Marandi explained, pointing to when Saudi Arabia and Iran were negotiating to reestablish diplomatic relations. “There were years of negotiations to reestablish ties. The sticking point was that the Saudis wanted Iran to negotiate on behalf of Yemen because [Saudi Arabia was] at war with Yemen… and the Iranians insisted that they [would] not negotiate on their behalf… ultimately, the Saudis removed that precondition."

“No negotiations between Iran and the US took place [regarding Houthi attacks in the Red Sea] because the Iranians would not accept such negotiations,” he added.

Meanwhile, the US and its “sidekick, the British” are working to help the Israeli genocide, including by killing Yemeni citizens, Marandi said. “For the sake of Israel and for the sake of the Israeli genocide, they’re willing to make everyone suffer,” he added later.

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The Russian economy is growing despite sanctions, Bloomberg writes.

The agency noted the growth of wages in the country, as well as the fact that poverty and unemployment are at record lows.

The Russian Army has completed early voting in the 2024 presidential election

Among those, who have exercised their right to vote:

▪️ Servicemen participating in a special operation;

▪️ Servicemen on combat duty in remote geographical locations;

▪️ Servicemen on long-distance campaigns and performing tasks in the Syria and in the zone of the Azerbaijan Karabakh economic region.

From February 25 to March 14, the aviation and sea transport of the Russian Defense Ministry were used to deliver election commissions to remote locations of servicemen and civilian personnel of the Russian Army.

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Macron says France's defense industry not ready for high-intensity conflict

The French defense industry is not ready for a high-intensity conflict, but France is ready to respond to a possible escalation by Russia and "make decisions to ensure that it does not win," French President Emmanuel Macron has said.

In an interview with the France 2 broadcaster on Thursday, Macron was asked about his assessment of the state of the French defense industry, which now produces 100 shells a day — "as many as Ukraine uses in a few minutes."

"Our defense industry is not adapted to a high-intensity conflict that does not appear in any of our projections," Macron said.

The French president recalled that he ordered defense companies to ramp up production.

Western countries have been providing military and financial aid to Kiev since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict.

In April 2022, Russia sent a diplomatic note to all NATO countries on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian strikes.

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🇷🇺 Follow the Russian presidential elections with us!   

Detailed coverage, analysis, and all the latest data — only on the Sputnik International channel.   

Voting will take place over three days — March 15, 16, and 17.   

Stay tuned!

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🇷🇺🗳 How Putin voted in Russia's presidential elections over the years

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"Basically a declaration of war against Russia," German activist and businessman Kim Dotcom commented on Macron's statements about the absence of red lines for France:

"Let’s hope the French rise up to remove this mad man from power," he wrote on X.

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Russian soldier infiltrates trenches full of Ukrainian fighters single-handedly

To eliminate Ukrainian militants attempting to break through positions on the border of Russia's Belgorod region, a Russian soldier bravely approached a trench, tossed a grenade inside, and swiftly rejoined his fellow soldiers.

Remarkably, he emerged unscathed.

Thanks to his courageous act, a significant number of Ukrainian fighters were injured or killed, enabling the Russian troops to successfully defeat the enemy.

A video from social media

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🇷🇺Citizens of Russia's Belgorod went to vote immediately after the cancellation of the missile threat from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Earlier, due to the missile threat, people who came to vote were forced to leave the polling station and evacuate to shelter.

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📹✈️ The crew of a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft launched a missile attack on units of the Ukrainian troops in the north of the DPR.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the targets were successfully hit.

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▪️Russia's presidential election kicks off

▪️One-way ticket to the moon Ukraine: Nearly half of the foreign mercs have already been annihilated by the Russian Armed Forces in the special operations zone.

▪️Is Joe Biden being held captive by his own staff? Watch disturbing footage of the POTUS being denied the opportunity to speak to the press

▪️Get a glimpse of Russia’s brand-new Mi-35P chopper with top-notch guns.

Here’s even more stories for you:

▪️Good for business, but bad for the battlefield. A Sputnik correspondent explains the reasons why Abrams and Leopard battle tanks are performing abysmally against the Russian army.

▪️Why the Czech-led ammo coalition is unable to galvanize the Ukrainian army

▪️What is the US getting wrong about the Houthis?

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🇷🇺🗳On the first day of the presidential elections, over a million people took part in remote voting on Russia's federal online platform, according to the data of the monitoring portal.

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🇷🇺🗳Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Defense Ministry Valery Gerasimov voted in the presidential elections of the Russian Federation together with servicemen of the United Group of Forces at one of the polling stations in the Southern Military District.

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🇷🇺 Everything you need to know about Russia’s 2024 presidential elections

Russian citizens will head to the polls on March 15-17 to vote in 2024 presidential election. There are 112.3 million eligible voters inside Russia, and around 1.9 million eligible voters reside abroad.

Voter turnout is expected at 71%, as per the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM).

What’s new about 2024 elections?

E-voting, a remote electronic voting system, is being used for the first time to elect a Russian president. Voters in 29 Russian regions will be able to cast their ballots remotely.

🟥 Electronic ballot processing system uses a special scanner to read and process marked paper ballots and tally the results.

🟥 Mobile Voter mechanism provides online voting.

🟥 Elections state automated system is information software that ensures that ballots are counted in an accurate and rapid manner.

There are four candidates vying for the top office:

🔶 Self-nominated candidate and incumbent President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin;

🔶 Communist Party nominee Nikolay Kharitonov;

🔶 Liberal Democratic Party nominee Leonid Slutsky;

🔶 New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov.

Who will observe the voting process?

📹 Election observers are Russian citizens who monitor compliance of election procedure with the law, supervise the process and record possible violations.

📹 200 parliamentary international observers have been accredited to monitor the elections in Russia, delegations from 36 countries are already arriving.

👉 Follow the link to learn more

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🇷🇺🗳Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov voted in the Russian presidential election

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⚡️Over the past three days, all attempts by Ukrainian militants to invade Russia's Belgorod and Kursk regions have been suppressed, Russia's Defense Ministry reports.

The total losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to more than 1.5 thousand servicemen (about 500 - irretrievable), 18 tanks and 23 armored combat vehicles were destroyed.

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❗️ The Russian Defense Ministry provides details of yesterday's attempt by a Ukrainian sabotage group to infiltrate the Russian Belgorod region:

▪️ The Ukrainian sabotage group, consisting of special forces fighters and foreign mercenaries, landed troops on Mi-8 helicopters about a kilometer from the border.

▪️ The Ukrainian militants entered several houses on the outskirts of the village of Kozinka (Belgorod region), while trying to get deeper into the area, they were discovered and stopped by the Russian military and border guards.

▪️ The enemy was hit by artillery and aircraft, to exclude the approach of reserves, the area was remotely mined.

▪️ Having suffered significant losses, the Ukrainian militants began to retreat. A group of saboteurs tried to gain a foothold in one of the houses on Republicanskaya Street of the village, but was blocked.

▪️ The remnants of the Ukrainian sabotage group, retreating to the territory of Ukraine, entered a minefield, where they were destroyed.

▪️ At the same time, the enemy group advancing to evacuate the wounded and dead was eliminated by MLRS fire.

▪️ Total Ukrainian losses amounted to over 50 personnel. Control over the settlement has been fully reestablished, and clearing operations are underway.

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The turnout of voters in the Russian presidential elections in the whole country is 5.42% as of 11:36 a.m. Moscow time.

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International Monitoring of the Russian Presidential Election: 706 observers from 106 countries have been accredited.

"I would like to express my great respect for the courage of the people who, despite pressure and threats, came to our country to get objective information about the elections. They are ready to observe in any region, including the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions," said Ella Pamfilova, chairwoman of the Central Election Commission.

According to preliminary data, international observers will visit at least 52 regions.

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'Irresponsible': French MP accuses Macron of dragging his country into war with Russia

French President Emmanuel Macron has reaffirmed his willingness to put his country at risk of war with Russia, tweeted Arnaud Le Gall, a member of the left-wing La France Insoumise (Unbowed France) party.

Le Gall blamed Macron for what the lawmaker described as the French president's "irresponsible" behavior.

This comes after the French president again refused to rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine, but said they weren't needed at the moment.

"We're not in that situation today," but "all these options are possible," Macron said in an interview with French national television when asked about the prospect of the aforementioned troop deployment.

The French leader raised the same prospect last month, in comments that caused an uproar among other European leaders, who insisted they had no plans to deploy their countries' forces.

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🗣 Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on the reasons for the attacks on Russian regions: These are attempts to cast a shadow on the presidential elections and destabilize the situation.

Peskov also commented on the reports of a secret CIA operation against the Chinese authorities: We experienced such activities ourselves.

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