US, EU in ‘critical talks’ to prevent Mideast war after Haniyeh’s assassination – report 

European and American diplomats have conducted urgent negotiations around the Middle East, in a bid to avert the threat of a full-fledged regional war following the July 31 assassination of Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh, the Financial Times (FT) reports. 

Wednesday saw “critical talks” in Tehran between Enrique Mora, one of the EU’s most senior diplomats, and high-ranking Iranian officials. In another development, Brett McGurk, the Biden administration’s top official in the Middle East, held discussions in Saudi Arabia.

The negotiations focused on trying to convince Iran to either not retaliate or to stage a symbolic action, unnamed sources told the FT. “Everyone since last night is putting pressure on Tehran to not respond and to contain this,” one insider claimed.

The 62-year-old chief of the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, was killed in an airstrike on his residence in Tehran after he attended the inauguration of the new Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Both Hamas and Iran pledged to avenge the killing, blaming Israel for Haniyeh’s death.

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Media speculates on number of F-16s received by Ukraine

Ukraine has received six F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands, The Times reported, citing a source. According to the report, Ukraine will soon receive a new batch of F-16s from Denmark.

Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the first batch of NATO-supplied F-16 fighter jets has arrived in Ukraine. The Telegraph newspaper reported that the F-16s supplied to Ukraine have made their first flights in an "air defense" capacity. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that the arrival of F-16s to Ukraine will not affect the course on the battlefield.

“We will destroy the aircraft just as we've destroyed tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers,” he said.

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❗️LIVE: Funeral procession for Hamas political leader Haniyeh in Tehran

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📹In the third stage of non-strategic nuclear drills, Russian troops began equipping launch vehicles and aircraft weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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◾️ Funeral ceremony for assassinated Hamas chief, Haniyeh, taking place in Tehran

◾️ US, EU reportedly in talks to prevent Mideast war after Haniyeh’s death – what are they discussing?
 
◾️ Guessing game: media speculates on number of F-16s received by Ukraine

◾️ Fresh poll shows many Germans disapprove of US long-range missiles on home soil

◾️ A peek at third stage of Russia’s landmark non-strategic nuclear drills

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🤔"Where is Joe?"

Netizens have noticed Biden's long absence and are wondering where the current president is now.

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Zelensky responsible for destruction of Ukraine — former member of European Parliament

Addressing Zelensky, Mick Wallace said that history would not spare Zelensky as he has contributed to many devastating deeds:

"You've contributed to the destruction of Ukraine, contributed to the death of hundreds of thousands of working-class Ukrainians, contributed to the fire sale of Ukrainian land to Western corporations, contributed to a US-NATO Proxy War — History will not be kind to you, Zelensky," Wallace wrote on X.

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❗️The Israel Defense Forces say they eliminated the leader of Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigade, Mohammed Deif.

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Farce at Olympics opening is reason Macron will lose seat as president — Nigel Farage

"Drag queens, a mockery of the Last Supper - sum up the modern-day elites in Paris... if that's the showcase for France with this big global event, it's a very, very sad, very poor reflection," the British politician said.

He argued all of that "tells you why Marine Le Pen will be president in two years' time."

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US push for new corridor from Central Asia to Europe without Russia or China

The US is considering creating a new land route from the countries of Central Asia to Europe through the territories of Armenia and Azerbaijan, bypassing Russia and China, James O'Brien, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, stated at a hearing on "The Future of Europe" in the US Senate.

🔸 O'Brien lamented the fact that Central Asian countries' path to the global markets "is fundamentally through Russia or China".

🔸 The US official suggested a new route through Azerbaijan and Armenia, after mentioning that Baku and Yerevan have agreed to a border demarcation process, following clashes over Nagorny Karabakh. 

🔸 In June, the US Trade Representative (USTR) Kathleen Tai visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to promote the US version of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle corridor, in order to connect the region with the West - sidelining Russia and China, via a route across the Caspian and through the South Caucasus and Turkiye.

🔸 In January, European and international investors pledged to commit $10.8 billion to support "Middle corridor connectivity" between Europe and Central Asia.

🔸 A website of the International Association "Trans-Caspian International Transport Route" launched by Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, presents another version of TITR, which includes routes to and from Southeast Asia and China, as a crucial part of the project. 

🔸 Georgia's Anaklia deep sea port, built by a Chinese-led consortium, is named by regional players as an important part of TITR. However, the US is up in arms about China's role in building the port. 

🔸 Apparently, the US is seeking to substitute Georgia with Armenia, in its version of TITR being at odds with Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream Party.

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❗️The Russian Armed Forces hit three Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems, a Ukrainian drone control center, and railway echelons with personnel and ammunition.

🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry’s daily briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️ The Russian Tsentr Battlegroup repelled 10 Ukrainian counterattacks and struck formations of five UAF brigades. Ukrainian losses amounted to 365 militants;

▪️ Ukrainian forces lost up to 125 militants in the Russian Vostok Battlegroup's combat zone;

▪️ The Russian Yug Battlegroup repelled one Ukrainian attack, resulting in the loss of up to 570 enemy personnel;

▪️ Units of the Russian Zapad Battlegroup improved their positions along the frontline, with the UAF losing up to 535 militants and a tank;

▪️ Russian air defense shot down 14 HIMARS rockets and 61 Ukrainian drones.

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⚡️Hamas reportedly denies the IDF's claims of killing Mohammed Deif, the movement's military wing leader.

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Ex-CIA officer weighs in: Was Hamas leader Haniyeh tracked via WhatsApp?

“Israel has invested a great deal of development money in various electronic tracking techniques like Lavender that enable it to locate and attack targets,” Philip Giraldi, former military intelligence and CIA operations officer, tells Sputnik.

Giraldi also assured that colleagues have informed him that these tracking techniques have proved very effective.

Although the actual role of the messenger in the process of tracking a person is not known, if true, it would not be the first time that a tech company has cooperated with a foreign intelligence service, the expert emphasizes.

But why Hamas might have continued to use such a compromised system like WhatsApp remains a mystery, Giraldi concludes.

Soon after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an airstrike in Tehran, Lebanese journalist Elia Manier claimed that Haniyeh had been tracked by Israeli intelligence via WhatsApp installed on his phone. The spyware made it possible to detect the exact location of the house where the Hamas leader was located and launch a missile strike on it from a drone, the journalist suggested.

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❗️Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan are leaving Russia as part of an exchange deal involving several countries, Bloomberg writes.

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