Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani has expressed Tehran's readiness to expand joint military drills with China as part of a bid to further develop bilateral strategic ties and counter the West’s persisting unilateralism.
Underlining that the United States is currently engaged in fomenting crisis and tension in Eastern Europe and West Asia, Ashtiani insisted during a Saturday meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in India's capital of New Delhi that “American policies are a common threat to Iran and China; we are against a unipolar world.”
Stressing that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has turned into an influential organization in global developments, Ashtiani said the expansion and consolidation of the SCO is an effective step towards promoting multilateralism in the international arena.
The Iranian defense chief further pointed to significant changes in the regional and international issues, and added that the two countries have invariably collaborated to thwart the implementation of “unilateralist and totalitarian approaches” pursued by the West in independent countries.
The defense minister referred to last month’s joint naval drills between Iran, China and Russia, dubbed Maritime Security Belt exercise 2023, saying, “This showed that the three countries are against the hegemonic views of the West and the United States, and we are ready to expand joint drills and exercises in the fields of sea, land, and air defense quantitatively and qualitatively.”
Ashtiani further state, “It will be very useful and productive for both sides to continue the dialogue and engage in exchanges of military defense and intelligence delegations at different levels.”
Ashtiani also lauded shared cultural and historical relations between Iran and China, saying the political will of the leaders of the two countries as well as the understanding and adoption of common positions towards international developments are of strategic value.......more below
While trafficking young girls, he was also part of an effort to export military-grade systems to governments around the world
Rachel Marsden
By Rachel Marsden, a columnist, political strategist, and host of independently produced talk-shows in French and English.
rachelmarsden.com
When I first moved to New York, I walked into my new dentist’s office and genuinely wondered whether I’d accidentally wandered into a Victoria’s Secret audition.
The waiting room was full of stunning young women. Eventually I learned the dentist shared space with a modeling agency. You couldn’t tell who was getting veneers and who was getting a contract until you were halfway down the hallway.
Jeffrey Epstein’s life operated on the same architectural principle: two businesses shoved into one building, one involving underaged girls, the other involving powerful political figures, including some tied to the Israeli government. Not exactly whitening trays and catwalks, but equally disorienting.
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The bloc wants to use the funds to back a “reparation loan” to Ukraine
US officials want the EU to return Russia’s frozen assets once it signs a peace deal with Ukraine, contradicting the bloc's plans to use them to finance Kiev, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing diplomats.
EU leaders want to issue a €140 billion ($160 billion) “reparations loan” to Kiev using frozen Russian funds as collateral, despite opposition from bloc member Belgium, which has repeatedly warned that the scheme carries financial and legal risks.
According to the outlet, American officials told the EU’s sanctions envoy, David O’Sullivan, during a visit to Washington this summer that they planned to return Russia’s frozen assets after a peace treaty is concluded.
Under the purported US 28-point peace plan leaked to media in November, $100 billion in frozen Russian assets would be invested in American-led “efforts to rebuild.....more below
Paris has authorized the use of private military companies to provide assistance to third countries, the SVR noted
France is still exploring ways to directly involve itself in the Ukraine conflict, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said, citing a new government decree that authorizes the use of private military companies to assist foreign states engaged in armed conflict.
The agency claimed there is little ambiguity about which country France has in mind, given its sustained backing of Kiev. It argued that Ukraine’s mobile air-defense units and limited Western aircraft cannot fully counter Russian strikes, and that operating French-made Mirage fighter jets and other advanced systems requires expertise Ukraine does not possess.
The SVR stressed that the presence of French private military companies in Ukraine under the guise of “reference operators” would be regarded by Moscow as direct engagement by Paris in hostilities. It has also warned that such personnel ...
