"At present, we see that the strategy of domination has been defeated and that the US is at its weakest. Independent states are going through their historical period of development."

Late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke out openly and sharply against current US and collective Western policies, criticizing their position on the conflict in Gaza. He also brought Iran into the SCO and BRICS, and called on the countries of both associations to abandon the dollar.

Sputnik has collected Raisi's most striking quotes in one video.

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The United States rejects allegations that Washington's sanctions on the supply of spare parts to Iran may have led to the breakdown of Raisi's helicopter, the White House said.

According to the State Department, Iranian authorities themselves are to blame for using the 45-year-old helicopter in bad weather conditions.

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Three US citizens arrested in Democratic Republic of Congo after failed coup

Congolese authorities have arrested three US citizens after a shootout in the capital Kinshasa on Sunday, alleging them to be CIA agents. After stopping the coup, the DRC Armed Forces announced that they had arrested 50 people, including three US citizens, Congolese army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Sylvain Ekenge told media.

The orchestrator of the coup, Christian Malanga, a Congolese with US citizenship, was killed during the confrontation with security forces. General Ekenge confirmed Malanga’s death, stating that he had been "definitively neutralized" in the operation.

Malanga’s son was one of the three US citizens arrested following the attack, Ekenge added.

Social media videos allegedly show one of the US citizens sitting on the ground, appearing to beg his Congolese soldiers to spare him.

US Ambassador Lucy Tamlyn said in a post on social media that she was “very concerned” by reports that US citizens had allegedly been involved in the events.

The attempted coup in the DRC occurred on May 19, 2024. Its target was President Felix Tshisekedi and his Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe, but local security forces quickly crushed the rebellion.

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▪️Iran president’s death may have ‘serious consequences internationally’

▪️Late Iran foreign minister’s drive to bolster ties with Saudi Arabia was ‘thorn in Israel’s side’

▪️What could have caused Raisi’s helicopter crash? Veteran Russian pilot weighs in

▪️Who is Iran's Interim President Mohammad Mokhber?

▪️Sputnik has collected Raisi's most striking quotes in one video

▪️World leaders know Ukrainian conflict can only be resolved by US-Russia talks

▪️Are G7 countries happier to steal Russian assets after US ‘diplomatic push’?

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🥴 The US Congress is exploring all options against the International Criminal Court (ICC) if it proceeds with arrest warrants for Israeli officials amid the war in Gaza, House Speaker Mike Johnson has said.

"In the absence of leadership from the White House, Congress is reviewing all options, including sanctions, to punish the ICC and ensure its leadership faces consequences if they proceed," he said.

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Polish premier rejects EU’s common migration policy but wants Brussels to fortify eastern border

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk refused to receive illegal migrants sent to Poland under the EU-established quotas, even though Warsaw has a legal obligation to do so. At the same time, Tusk wants the EU’s help in building “impenetrable” walls on the borders with Russia and Belarus.

Receiving its portion of migrants coming to the EU from Africa and the Middle East is obligatory for each EU member country according to the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum (NPMA), adopted in April 2024.

A refusal to receive a migrant for whom the EU earmarked Poland as the new motherland should cost Poland €20,000 (about $21,000) - the norm established by the NPMA. But Tusk objects.

“We won’t pay for anything, and we won’t take any migrants that arrive from other directions [except the Ukrainian one]. And the EU will not impose any migrant quotas on us,” Tusk said in a statement published on his office’s Twitter account. “But Poland will require financial support from the EU, because Poland became a host country for hundreds of thousands of migrants from Ukraine.”

This stance obviously contradicts the norms of the New Pact. But it is popular in Poland, where public opinion strongly disapproves of hosting migrants from far away countries.

Simultaneously, a recent survey by SW Research indicates that 67% of Poles favor enhancing border security with Russia and Belarus. The building of a 5.5 meter high and 400 kilometers long wall separating Poland from Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad region will be costly. On Saturday, Tusk said in his speech in Krakow that Poland would invest $2.5 billion (about €2.3 billion) in these “dissuasion” fortifications. Poland already spends 4% of its GDP on defense, so Tusk’s promise to get the EU’s participation is weak solace to the electorate.

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Iranian media have shared the first piece of footage from the helicopter crash site where Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his delegation died.

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What fate awaits the Slovakian repair hub for Ukraine's Western-supplied weapons

As Western powers continue to send whatever weapons and military hardware they manage to scrounge up to Ukraine, the fate of a European facility created to aid the regime in Kiev may be hanging in the balance.

Germany and Slovakia are currently negotiating a lease extension for a repair hub established on Slovak soil to repair military vehicles supplied to Ukraine by Germany and France.

The facility was built in 2022 by a European defense contractor called KNDS (a product of a merger between German arms manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and French weapon maker Nexter Systems), and its lease is due for renewal this year.

While all parties involved seem to be “supportive” of the lease’s extension, “lot of complications have arisen” since this scheme was enacted two years ago, says international consultant and US Army veteran Ret. Lt. Col. Earl Rasmussen.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and President Peter Pellegrini, both of whom were elected after the KNDS facility was built, favor a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict and do not advocate further military aid to the regime in Kiev, Rasmussen explains.

“So we have a complete changeover, both from the presidential side as well as the parliamentary and the prime minister side from when the contract was initially put together,” he surmises. The recent assassination attempt on Fico may also complicate this situation further, he points out.

Rasmussen does argue, however, that the lease on the KNDS facility will likely be extended, though Bratislava would probably continue to oppose sending Slovakian weapons to Ukraine. “I think they'll be very cautious what type of weapon systems are actually repaired there as well,” he adds.

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The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) failed to adopt a Russia-drafted resolution on preventing an arms race in space, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The resolution failed to garner the necessary 9 votes out of 15.

Seven countries voted in favor of the resolution, seven voted against it and one country abstained. The United States and the United Kingdom were among those who voted against.

The draft resolution would have urged member nations "to take urgent measures to prevent for all time the placement of weapons in outer space and the threat or use of force in outer space, from space against Earth and from Earth against objects in outer space."

The document would also have called on member states to "seek through negotiations the early elaboration of appropriate reliably verifiable legally binding multilateral agreements."

Prior to the vote, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia said that West's refusal to support the resolution would expose its desire to maintain the freedom to act when it comes to the accelerated militarization of space.

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Russian air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian airplane-type drone over the Belgorod region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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Bulava missile: Russia's latest addition to strategic nuclear arsenal

Earlier this month, the Russian military adopted a new weapon that became an important component of its strategic nuclear deterrent – the RSM-56 Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile.

Designed to be carried by Borei-class nuclear subs, Bulava carries up to 1,150 kilograms of payload comprised of several multiple independent reentry vehicles (MIRVs), which it can deliver to a distance of up to 1,000 kilometers.

Each of the warheads has a yield of between 100 and 150 kilotons and is difficult to intercept due to its capability to maneuver in flight.

Weapons like Bulava, as well as the people who operate them, ensure that no attack that might threaten the existence of Russia would go unpunished.

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