James Stavridis said Ankara should obey its role as a US-led military bloc’s member..
Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis has claimed that there was no justification for Ankara to prevent a fellow bloc member from donating its warships to Ukraine.
The Turkish government said on Tuesday that it will not allow minesweeping vessels that the UK has pledged to Ukraine to pass through Bosphorus. Ankara, which controls the straits linking the Black Sea with the Mediterranean, shut down access to foreign warships when the conflict in Ukraine began in 2022.
However, Stavridis claimed that “there is sufficient discretion” under the 1936 Montreux Convention, and Ankara should have used a loophole to allow the passage of “purely defensive” warships.
“This is the clear NATO position, agreed by Turkey as part of its role in NATO,” the retired US admiral told Politico. He went on to claim that Ankara “should fully lean into its role as a NATO member,” instead of “trying too hard to strike a balance” with its relations with Moscow and the West.
NATO state won't let UK send minesweepers to Ukraine.....more below
https://www.rt.com/news/590209-anakara-british-warships-ukraine/
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
