US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation have triggered closures of key transit hubs, grounding flights across the region Hundreds of thousands travelers have been stranded across the Middle East following airspace closures triggered by unprovoked US-Israeli strikes on Iran, according to flight analytics firms. Massive strikes against Tehran began Saturday, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, top officials, and hundreds of civilians. Tehran responded with hundreds of missile and drone attacks targeting US and Israeli bases across the Middle East. Iran has also reportedly targeted several major regional aviation hubs, including the Dubai International Airport in the UAE – the world’s busiest – where damage and casualties were reported, as well as sites near international airports in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq. Following the escalation, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE announced partial or total airspace closures, forcing fl...
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The ‘decapitating’ strike against Tehran has triggered a succession process, but perhaps not the succession crisis it aimed for The past 24 hours have given Iran’s leadership transition a tangible shape, while also revealing how dangerously the very idea of “normal” is shifting in international politics. The death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli operation against Iran is a demonstrative precedent, read across the Middle East as the legalization of a blunt principle – when power is sufficient, sovereignty can be suspended at will. As a researcher of Middle Eastern politics, I cannot treat such actions as a “surgical strike.” They amount to the demolition of constraints that once, however imperfectly, made the international arena at least somewhat predictable. If the world’s leading military power and its closest regional ally signal that the physical elimination of a state’s top leader is an acceptable policy tool, then law becomes stage scenery rather than an organi...
The shipment was ordered by President Vladimir Putin to address shortages caused by cyclones Russia has delivered critical humanitarian aid to Madagascar, including around 60 tons of food, to support relief efforts after two consecutive cyclones, the Russian Embassy in the island nation has reported. Last month, Madagascar was struck by two powerful tropical systems, Gezani and Fytia, in quick succession. Fytia hit on January 31, causing severe flooding in the northwest and central highlands, killing at least 14 and displacing over 31,000. Gezani struck the eastern coast near Toamasina, the country’s main port, on February 10, devastating nearly 90% of infrastructure, killing at least 59, and leaving hundreds of thousands without shelter or clean water. The government declared a national state of emergency on February 14. On February 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for Madagascar during talks in Moscow with the country’s interim president, Michael Randrianiri...
The US is doing Israel’s bidding with strikes on Iran that are unlikely to trigger regime change, Michael Maloof has told RT The US-Israeli strikes on Iran are unlikely to trigger regime change and risk escalating into a wider geopolitical confrontation, former Pentagon security policy analyst Michael Maloof has told RT. Washington and West Jerusalem launched what they described as a “preemptive” attack on the Islamic Republic after nuclear talks failed to produce a breakthrough, prompting retaliation from Iran. Tehran responded with missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and US military bases across the region. In an interview with RT on Saturday, Maloof said the timing of the attack had likely been finalized during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Mar-a-Lago on February 12, despite President Donald Trump publicly insisting that negotiations with Tehran were ongoing. “The United States has always done Israel’s bidding. Netanyahu basically controls Trump,” ...
What Mexico can teach Russia about responsibility toward its neighbors It is often argued that the Central Asian republics receive too much from Russia while offering little in return. From this perspective, some suggest Moscow should adopt a more pragmatic, even harsher, approach toward its southern neighbors. Something akin to the way the United States has treated Central America for the past two centuries. The dramatic events in Mexico following the killing of a major organized crime figure offer a useful, if unsettling, point of comparison. What they revealed was not merely a surge of violence, but the fragility of the Mexican state itself. More precisely, Mexico today barely functions as a state in the classical sense. That is, as the sole authority capable of exercising organized violence. This should not surprise students of international relations. States evolve by developing strategies shaped by the balance of power with their neighbors. The larger and stronger a country is...
The Jewish State and the US earlier started a “pre-emptive” attack on the Islamic Republic after nuclear talks failed to deliver a breakthrough The Iranian military has launched a wave of retaliatory strikes on Israel after the Jewish State and the US attacked the Islamic Republic, although the extent of the damage remains unclear. On Saturday morning, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the country had carried out a “preemptive strike” on Iran “to remove threats against the State of Israel.” US President Donald Trump later confirmed that American forces are participating, while vowing to dismantle the Iranian nuclear program, “raze [Iranian] missile industry,” and “annihilate their navy.” Tehran maintains it does not seek nuclear weapons, insisting its research program is for peaceful purposes only. Following the US-Israeli attack, the IDF reported several waves of missiles “launched from Iran toward the State of Israel.” The military said air defenses we...