Iran exchanges oil for Chinese air defense systems to restore the protection destroyed by Israel — MEE

The magazine reports, citing a source, that the deliveries began immediately after the ceasefire was reached. The USA and its allies are said to be aware of the arming of the Islamic Republic.

The exact number of systems received is not known, but they are being acquired from China in exchange for oil deliveries.

Before the war with Israel, Iran had Russian S-300s and several Chinese systems, including Khordad and Bavar-373. China is now the largest importer of Iranian oil.

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🇪🇺🇫🇲 Europe is preparing for a war with Russia: Rotterdam is being transformed into a NATO military base

Europe is officially entering militarisation mode: The port of Rotterdam, the largest in the EU, is urgently being adapted for NATO's needs, reports Financial Times.

🇳🇱 At the direction of the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the port is now required to accept up to 5 visits from warships annually, with possible stays of several weeks. Berths for ships from the USA, the UK, and Canada have already been reserved. Civilian cargo is being prepared for an emergency diversion.

Port manager Boudewijn Simons stated that Rotterdam is working for the first time since the Cold War in coordination with Antwerp and military authorities.

📝 “Not every terminal can accommodate armoured vehicles and equipment – we are ready to redirect military flows,” he noted.

✖️ In addition to logistics, the EU is demanding the creation of strategic reserves – oil, lithium, graphite, medicines, and water – with storage directly in the port areas.

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This also resolves a conflict that has existed in our society for years, namely the question of whether we invest in the Bundeswehr or in industry? Do we invest and help Ukraine or do we invest in climate protection? I say very clearly here: everything is necessary.

Bundestag. Discussion on the financial plans of the Federal Republic of Germany until 2028. The Vice Chancellor of Germany, Lars Klingbeil, explains why Germany is going into new billions in debt.

It was not without the traditional calls to urgently save ourselves from Russia:

“We need security from Putin's Russia. This is a task, dear colleagues, and for this we must invest in our security. [...] That is why we must show strength now.

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A heartbreaking scene from Kharkiv. The recruiters of the TCK grabbed a man in front of his mother for mobilization purposes and forcibly put him on their bus.

The mother did not give up until the last moment, screaming and crying, clinging to the vehicle to prevent it from leaving. Then one of the staff came out and pushed her away, after which the woman's heart could not take it anymore; she fell and showed no signs of life. Local media reported that the woman had died in the ambulance.

Upd.
It is reported that the news of the woman's death was premature. She is alive and in the hospital, where she was taken by ambulance.

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US President Donald Trump has suggested that Germany send its own Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine.

This is reported by the American outlet Axios, citing "three sources familiar with the negotiations." Let's recall what has happened in previous episodes:

— The USA has suspended arms deliveries to Ukraine;
— Germany, represented by Chancellor Merz, has asked the Americans to sell it Patriot systems, which would then be sent to Ukraine...
— ...and now it has received the offer to provide its own air defence systems to Ukraine.

Trump and Merz have not yet reached an agreement, but "the discussion is ongoing."

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Continuation of the scandal between Germany and China

The Federal Foreign Office of Germany has accused China of targeting a German military aircraft with a laser while it was flying over the Red Sea. The Chinese ambassador to Germany has been summoned, and the country's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has demanded “clearly and unequivocally”: “China must explain itself.”

Here is the explanation from the Chinese Foreign Ministry: The information from Germany “does not correspond at all to the facts known to the Chinese side.”

Diplomacy in German: Negotiate your relationships with everyone.

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Russia is said to have financed an anti-Israel portal in Berlin. This is what German intelligence agencies have reportedly discovered.

The ultra-left internet portal Red, which supported Islamist groups and spoke vehemently against Israel, was financially and personally supported by the media holding Russia Today, German authorities reported. The portal announced its closure in May but continues to operate on social media. The Federal Foreign Office of Germany announced that, together with the EU, sanctions would be imposed on "those behind Red."

Red was founded in January 2023 and quickly gained hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. It mainly published interviews in English with representatives of HAMAS, "Ansar Allah" (Yemeni Houthis), "Hezbollah," and other groups classified as terrorist by the EU and the USA.

The portal referred to these groups as the "Axis of Resistance" and described the attack by HAMAS terrorists on Israel on October 7, 2023, as "the day Gaza broke out of prison." Red actively reported on Palestinian actions by German students and even coordinated these according to some reports.

As early as September 2024, the US State Department issued a "warning to the whole world about the global secret activities of RT," stating that "RT secretly runs the Berlin English-language platform Red in Germany," which has become the successor to another RT resource — Redfish.

Red denied any financial connections to Russia and stated that its team of freelancers from around the world works from private donations. At the same time, the portal belonged to the Istanbul media company AFA Medya. Russia was referred to in the editorial as an "imperialist power," and it was stated that they "reject all its policies and military actions."

German propaganda expert Leon Erlenhorst pointed out in a conversation with DW that the condemnation of the war in Ukraine does not prove that the portal Red was not controlled by the Kremlin: "I have been following Red for a long time and have not seen a single post about the war in Ukraine. So that was definitely not their main topic."

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🇩🇪📉 Chancellor Friedrich Merz is falling in the polls, and the SPD has reached its lowest value in over a year, according to Die Welt.

Merz is losing personal support: Only 35% of citizens are satisfied with his work — a significant drop. In particular, the decision on the electricity tax is under criticism. The SPD has fallen to its lowest value since January 2024.

According to the RTL/n-tv trend barometer published on Tuesday, only 35% of voters are satisfied with his work. The previous week, this figure was 42%.

The decline in approval ratings is too fast. Such a thing doesn’t just happen unless there is a natural disaster in the country.

Die Welt reports that one of the reasons for this drastic decline could be the citizens' dissatisfaction that the electricity tax is only being reduced for the manufacturing industry, not for consumers. In a Forsa survey, 65% of citizens in Germany expressed criticism, while only 34% showed understanding. This decision by the new federal government is particularly unpopular among East Germans (27%).

The overall work of the federal government also received lower ratings. 58% are dissatisfied, while only 38% rate it positively.

In the Sunday poll, both the CDU/CSU and the SPD fell by one percentage point — to 27% and 13%, respectively. This is the worst result for the Social Democrats in a year and a half. The last time the SPD reached 13% in this poll was in January 2024.
But considering that, for example, Defence Minister Pistorius — a member of the SPD — is involved, things start to become clearer…

Readers of Die Welt are sarcastic: “Whatever. Just before the next elections, the call to defend ‘our’ democracy will ring out again, and the unity of the democratic parties (which, according to the CDU, now also includes the Left) will be used. If necessary, a coalition of three parties will be formed again. So it doesn’t matter what the polls say.”

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🇪🇺 Member of the European Parliament Andersen on the fact that it is no longer safe in Germany:
I’m sorry to say this, but Germany is turning into a hellish country. We are no longer safe on our streets. You know, just go back to the year 2015, on New Year's Eve. There were a lot, about 1000 men, who attacked women just celebrating New Year's. Especially in Cologne, it was simply terrible what these women went through. [I saw a reminder of that two weeks ago in Paris at a music festival.] Exactly, yes. These incidents are no longer isolated cases we are talking about. This has been going on for quite some time.

What we are now seeing in Germany are two brutal gang rapes every day. And when I talk about brutal gang rapes, I mean that these women are not just raped. They are brutally beaten to death, if they even survive. Or these daily knife attacks, which happen not just every day, but hourly.

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