The chief of the NATO military alliance has announced a plan to launch a new “virtual network” comprising national and commercial satellites as the war in Ukraine approaches one year.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking to reporters on Monday ahead of the bloc's defense ministers' meeting in Brussels, said the move is designed to bolster the alliance's "intelligence and surveillance" as well as support its "missions and operations."
“This will improve our intelligence and surveillance. And support NATO missions and operations,” Stoltenberg said, adding that it would allow for “better navigation, communication, and early warning of missile launches.”
It comes after Moscow warned that Western commercial satellites being used in the Ukraine war could be "legitimate military targets".
In October last year, a senior Russian foreign ministry official was quoted as saying that commercial satellites from the United States and its allies could become legitimate targets for Russia if they were involved in the war in Ukraine.
"Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike," Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian foreign ministry's department for non-proliferation and arms control, told the United Nations, calling it "provocative".
Stoltenberg said the new network would require increased military spending from those nations, adding that the discussions during the NATO defense ministers meeting will seek to “maintain and step up defense spending across the alliance."
The NATO chief also reaffirmed the alliance's support for Ukraine in the war against Russia "for as long as it takes."
Russia launched what it calls the "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022, with NATO's eastward expansion blamed for the war. Next week, the simmering war will complete one year.
Russia views the alliance’s efforts to make Ukraine a member and to deploy missiles close to its borders as a direct threat to Russian territory.
Stoltenberg also hinted at the expansion of NATO’s efforts in Eastern European countries, and bolstering its "practical support" for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova, whom he described as “valued partners which face Russian threats.”
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/02/14/698199/US-led-NATO-launch-new-surveillance-network
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 ...
