This past spring, Finland and Sweden broke with decades of neutrality by announcing their intent to join NATO, ostensibly in response to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. The accession process has been held up by Turkey over Stockholm and Helsinki’s support for Kurdish fighters Ankara classifies as “terrorists,” and could drag on into 2023.
Military Thought, the Russian Defense Ministry’s official theoretical journal, has outlined some of the concrete measures the Russian military will be forced to take if and when Finland and Sweden become members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“Although the planned accession of Finland and Sweden into the NATO bloc represents the legal registration of long-established relations, this must be considered as one of the most urgent challenges to the Russian Federation, which will require the adoption of a series of adequate measures,” a paper published in the journal’s December issue indicated.
The need for such “adequate measures” is related, first and foremost, to the fact that once the Nordics join the bloc, more than 1,000 km of NATO territory will appear on Russia’s borders, after which the alliance can deploy military equipment, troops, and tactical missile systems there that would threaten the military-industrial and transport infrastructure of Russia’s Arkhangelsk region.
Military Thought outlined the measures Russia’s Armed Forces will need to take in response to the emergent threat. “On our part, this will require building up the ground and coastal forces in the northern direction, missile forces and artillery, air defense and aviation, including unmanned aircraft, as well as the planning of strikes using long-range precision weapons against targets in Finland and Sweden,” the article warned.
Such a shift in the regional balance of forces would ruin decades of trouble-free relations that Moscow and Helsinki enjoyed for decades going back to the post-WWII period, which allowed both countries to limit defense expenditures and force presence along one another’s borders, and to engage in economic and cross-border cooperation.
Moscow has expressed concerns over the impact that Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO would have on regional security. Last week, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that their accession could lead to “increased militarization of the Arctic region,” and a consequent “significant increase of tensions and security risks.”.....more below
Mohsen Rezaee, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, has said preconditions include reparations and security guarantees
For the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US to conclude, the latter must withdraw its military forces from the Persian Gulf, according to a member of the advisory board of Iran’s supreme leader.
Mohsen Rezaee, a retired major general and former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), added that Tehran would also seek full restitution for the damage done and ironclad security guarantees from Washington.
In an interview with Iran’s SNN TV broadcaster published on Saturday, the member of the Expediency Discernment Council said that the “presence of the US in the Persian Gulf has been the main cause of insecurity over the past 50 years.”
“The end of the war is also in our hands,” Rezaee claimed, naming the “US withdrawal from the Persian Gulf” among the key prerequisites. Additionally, Iran expects to receive reparations from the ...
The spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has accused the United States and Israel of deploying a rebranded copy of Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, designated “Lucas,” to carry out attacks on civilian infrastructure in regional countries as part of a deliberate false-flag operation aimed at framing the Islamic Republic.
In an official statement released today, the spokesman explained that after suffering military setbacks on the battlefield and failing to build political coalitions against Iran, the enemy has resorted to deception.
The statement specifically warned that the objective of these operations is to “create doubt and accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran” while sowing discord between Tehran and its neighbors, thereby undermining the legitimacy of Iran’s defensive actions.
The spokesman pointed to a series of “suspicious attacks” in recent days on facilities in friendly neighboring countries, including Turkey, Kuwait, and Iraq, which Western media outlets and hostile ...
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced the execution of the 51st wave of Operation True Promise 4, launching missile strikes against US military installations across the region in retaliation for ongoing American-Israeli aggression against the country.
The IRGC announced the latest wave was carried out using a combination of liquid-fuel and solid-fuel missiles against US terrorist army forces at the Al Kharj Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
According to the IRGC statement, Al Kharj base served as the "origin of aggressions against the Islamic homeland," functioning as the staging ground for US F-35 and F-16 fighter jets involved in attacks on Iran.
The base also houses fuel supply aircraft and serves as the main hub for American AWACS surveillance planes.
Concurrently, the spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters confirmed that the fiftieth wave of the operation struck multiple US terrorist army bases.
They include the Al Dhafra Air Base and Fujairah in the UAE, Jufair in ...
