The Global Eye is in partnership with SIOI – Società Italiana per l’Organizzazione Internazionale
Afghanistan
(Lyse Doucet – BBC) The elderly grimace, hobbling on crutches, and wide-eyed children stare, cradling chickens carried from homes they were forced to leave behind. “It feels good to be in my own country,” 35-year-old Nazia says, just minutes after she crosses from Pakistan, where she was born, into Afghanistan. The Torkham crossing, known as “Zero Point”, is where one hard life ends and another begins. “But I’ve never been to Afghanistan before and many people here don’t even have enough bread to eat,” Nazia sighs as she heads, two of her children in tow, toward registration counters festooned with white and black Taliban flags. Nearly her entire family, eight sisters and their offspring, were deported to Afghanistan this year from Pakistan or Iran. They are part of the biggest cross-border movement of people anywhere in the world. Millions of Afghans have fled across the borders to Pakistan and Iran for decades – seeking refuge or employment – and the number escaping Afghanistan has continued to rise since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Most are now being forced to return as these two neighbours crack down on undocumented migrants. Nazia and her family were undocumented but the UN and human rights groups say the security sweep is reaching far beyond that group to include registered Afghans too. Even Pakistan now publicly says that Afghans with Proof of Registration cards are not exempt. – ‘I’ve never been to Afghanistan’: Six million deportees forced to start over under the Taliban
Austria
(Zia Weise – Politico) One sleepy village nestled in the foothills of the Alps may soon devour more electricity than all the households of Vienna. It is all thanks to Google. The American tech giant is building Austria’s first hyperscale data center on the outskirts of tiny Kronstorf, a two-hour drive from the capital. The site could eventually consume the equivalent of 7 percent of the country’s current power demand. Growing resistance, however, may throw a wrench in the company’s ambitions. A band of local rebels — worried about the data center’s voracious appetite for energy and skeptical about a power grab by a U.S. tech behemoth — is battling to prevent expansion. “We really want to give them a hard time,” said Harald Müllner, an IT specialist from nearby Linz, who co-founded a local alliance of scientists, artists and activists campaigning against the data center. “They need to see that the people are not happy with this”. Their protests and petitions against Google’s plans mirror trends across the Atlantic, where Democrats are seizing on a growing backlash against data centers ahead of this year’s U.S. midterm elections. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has taken the side of Big Tech, posting on Monday that communities opposing data centers will “end up being backwards and poor”. In Europe, activists are targeting projects in France and locals are protesting plans in Italy. In Ireland, where data centers already consume a fifth of all electricity, opponents have tried — and failed — to block construction in the courts. But so far, European concerns about data centers have run up against governments anxious the continent is falling behind the U.S. and China in the artificial intelligence race. “We cannot call for greater European AI sovereignty while at the same time putting up ever-new obstacles that hinder the very infrastructure on which it is based,” said Elisabeth Zehetner, Austria’s energy state secretary, about demands for greater regulation of massive data centers like the one in Kronstorf. The European Union plans to triple its data center capacity by 2035. Brussels and national governments have vowed to tear down regulatory barriers to the AI boom, even while insisting it can be sustainable. The Austrian activists are skeptical. “A hyperscale data center isn’t sustainable by its very nature. It’s just so huge,” said Christina Gruber, a freshwater ecologist campaigning against the Kronstorf data center. “There are so many factors — the conversion of arable land, this extreme thirst for energy, the consumption of water,” she added. “And the much greater question hanging over it all is simply: ‘What for? Is it worth it?’” – Power-hungry data centers are expanding in Europe. So is the resistance. – POLITICO
China
(Martin Mühleisen – Atlantic Council) When it comes to Chinese trade surpluses, US and European policy debates often misdiagnose the problem. China’s trade surplus is the visible symptom of a larger challenge: Chinese statecraft designed to turn industrial scale and supply-chain dominance into self-sufficiency and geostrategic leverage. Containing China will require a more durable and more unified Western response than currently exists. – Why China’s export-maximizing strategy is working—for now – Atlantic Council
Europe
(Gregorio Sorgi – Politico) Ireland is stepping up its efforts to unblock talks on the EU’s next seven-year budget, with governments split over the size and aims of the spending plan — and neither side showing signs of giving ground. Dublin, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU and is steering negotiations, will ask governments at a ministerial meeting on Thursday which parts of the budget should get more or less money, according to a preparatory note seen by POLITICO. Talks have been deadlocked for months, with neither camp seeing an advantage in giving ground first. European Council President António Costa is touring capitals to narrow differences and lay the groundwork for a deal by the end of year, before national elections in France, Spain and Italy in 2027 have a chance to upend the political calculus and disrupt negotiations further. – Ireland bids to break EU budget deadlock as warring governments stall for time – POLITICO
France
(Marion Solletty – Politico) Marine Le Pen’s bid to broaden her appeal beyond the far right is running into a familiar challenge: The promises that energize her core voters are precisely the ones that worry fiscal conservatives. At the first debate ahead of next spring’s presidential election, the far-right veteran promised French voters an ambitious cost-cutting package she says would bring the country’s budget deficit under control. But she also doubled down on her promise to roll back a key element of French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform and make it possible for workers to retire at 62. – Marine Le Pen’s risky economic gamble – POLITICO
Germany – NATO – US
(Mark Montgomery and Bradley Bowman – Defense News) The Pentagon’s review of U.S. force posture in Europe has many NATO allies asking questions about the future of America’s military footprint on the continent, even as CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to reportedly warn the Kremlin not to attack alliance members. Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby said that the review was meant to ensure that NATO allies are “moving fast and irreversibly” to “take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe” in a speech to the North Atlantic Council on Aug. 27. Germany, for its part, has taken notice – and acted. Berlin’s role in NATO has been defined for decades more by its restraint than by its contribution, a nation constitutionally cautious about military power and chronically underspending on defense. That era is over. Spurred by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s naked aggression in Ukraine and increasingly sharp demands from the Trump administration, Germany has undergone a strategic transformation so rapid and consequential that it has become the most important European nation in the alliance, not just by virtue of its economic clout, political power, and geographic position, but by the choices it has made about how to use them. – Germany is stepping up on defense — and Washington should celebrate
Iraq – Syria
(Al Arabiya) Iraq’s judiciary on Tuesday said it completed the interrogation of more than 5,700 ISIS suspects whom the United States transferred from neighboring Syria earlier this year. The cases will now proceed to trial, while more than 450 Syrians will be released and handed over to their country. Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said it concluded “the interrogation phase” of the 5,704 ISIS suspects who were brought from northeast Syria, and referred them to trial. – Iraq wraps up questioning 5,700 ISIS suspects transferred from Syria
Israel
(Tal Shalev, Oren Liebermann – CNN) Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir has made it a point to post videos of himself on social media taunting or mocking Palestinian prisoners. He boasted of threatening the most high-profile Palestinian prisoner. He showed off activists from a Gaza flotilla bound on the floor. And he is proud of a new law he pushed to expand the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism. But as elections near, his messaging has grown more extreme. His latest AI-generated campaign video shows rows of numbered Palestinian prisoners in brown uniforms moving along a conveyor belt into a fenced compound with watchtowers; the inmates appear well-fed at the start and thinner and distressed after passing through the industrial-style processing line. The post says, “We promised – we delivered.” The video was removed from Ben Gvir’s account on X after amassing more than 4 million views. The minister has long called for conditions of Palestinian security prisoners to be reduced to “the minimum required by law”. Ben Gvir is perhaps the best known of Israel’s far-right politicians, a provocateur with his hands on the country’s levers of power. As the minister of National Security, he is in charge of the police and the prisons as his politics have become a defining feature of Israel’s image abroad. – Israel’s crowded far-right grows more extreme as elections near | CNN
Israel – Greece
(Steven Scheer and Lefteris Papadimas – Reuters) Israel and Greece signed a €3 billion ($3.5 billion) defense deal on Monday under which Israel will build a multi-layered air defense system for Greece as Athens pushes ahead with a broader military modernization program. Israel’s defense ministry said it was Israel’s largest-ever defense export deal with Greece and one of the biggest in the country’s history. The agreement confirmed an earlier Reuters report. – Israel signs $3.5 billion air defense deal with Greece
Israel – Syria
(AFP) Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Tuesday that his country was working toward a “diplomatic solution” with Israel, with US mediation, despite ongoing Israeli attacks. Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on Syria since the authorities ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Israel also sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that had separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights since 1974. – Syria wants diplomatic solution with Israel despite attacks: FM
Israel – West Bank
(AFP) Israeli settlers tried to set fire to a mosque in the north of the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Palestinians said, in the latest such attack in the territory. The Palestinian ministry of religious affairs said that “a group of settlers tried to burn parts of the Nur al-Din Zanki Mosque” in Bazzaryah, near Nablus, describing the incident as a “criminal attack”. AFP photos and video from Bazzaryah showed blackened burn marks around a window of a room belonging to the mosque building and threatening Hebrew messages written on the exterior walls. – Israeli settlers try to torch occupied West Bank mosque, Palestinians say
Russia – Ukraine
(Jaroslav Lukiv – BBC) At least 12 people have been killed and 17 injured, including two children, in overnight Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and the wider region, officials say. In Kyiv, six of the eight casualties were railway workers of the state Ukrzaliznytsia company after a depot was hit. Fires were reported in three city districts. Four people were killed in the town of Boryspil where a residential building was hit. – Russian strike hits rail workers in new deadly attacks on Kyiv
Saudi Arabia – Oman
(Al Arabiya) Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq in Jeddah on Tuesday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The two leaders “reviewed bilateral relations and explored promising opportunities to strengthen cooperation across various fields,” SPA said. – Saudi Arabia’s MBS receives Omani sultan in Jeddah
Sweden – France
(Reuters) Sweden signed an order for four Naval Group frigates during a ceremony in Stockholm on Monday attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Sweden, NATO’s newest member, is racing to build up its military strength after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted the country to abandon its long-held policy of neutrality. – Sweden signs French warship order to boost defense
Tech World, Cybersecurity, Surveillance
(DigWatch) The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) adopted a package of measures on artificial intelligence (AI), data infrastructure and information security at its Council of Heads of State summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, from 31 August to 1 September 2026. The summit was held as the concluding event under Kyrgyzstan’s chairmanship and marked the SCO’s 25th anniversary. – SCO adopts AI and digital cooperation package at Kyrgyzstan summit | Digital Watch Observatory
(DigWatch) Global data centre water consumption could nearly triple by 2030 as computing capacity expands, with AI contributing to growing infrastructure demand, according to estimates from Rystad Energy (a research company focusing on energy-related issues). Data centres directly consumed an estimated 222 billion litres of water for cooling in 2025. Rystad Energy projects consumption could reach almost 644 billion litres annually by 2030 without sufficient efficiency improvements. More water-efficient approaches could limit consumption to 543 billion litres under a moderate scenario or 388 billion litres under a more aggressive water-saving scenario. – Data centre water consumption could nearly triple by 2030 | Digital Watch Observatory
(DigWatch) Malaysia will provide free artificial intelligence training and access to AI tools to 100,000 people aged between 18 and 30 under a new government programme running through 2027. The ‘AI untuk Rakyat’ programme will be delivered through Rakyat Digital, the national digital learning portal operated as an initiative of the Ministry of Digital through MyDIGITAL Corporation. The programme begins on 31 August and is intended to combine AI knowledge with practical experience using digital tools. – Malaysia launches free AI programme for 100,000 young people | Digital Watch Observatory
(DigWatch) The Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI) of the Council of Europe reviewed a comprehensive study on newsfluencers and their role in Europe’s evolving information ecosystem at its 29th Plenary meeting in Strasbourg. Authored by Marijana Grbeša and Iva Nenadić, the study analyses newsfluencers as hybrid actors at the intersection of journalism, influencer culture, and platform-based creator economies. The report documents how social media and digital platforms increasingly shape public opinion and democratic participation across Europe. The study focused on structural shifts in media consumption driven by platformisation and algorithmic amplification. It claims that the declining trust in mainstream media, increased news avoidance, and younger audiences’ preference for short visual content distributed via social platforms, characterise contemporary information mediums. – Council of Europe studies emergence of newsfluencers’ role as a news authority | Digital Watch Observatory
(DigWatch) China plans to expand the use of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies across special education under a five-year government action plan covering 2026 to 2030. The plan, issued by the Ministry of Education and six other government departments, proposes human-machine collaboration models including intelligent learning companions and AI-assisted teachers. AI applications could provide classroom assistance for students with disabilities and support home-based teaching for students with severe disabilities. – China plans AI expansion across special education | Digital Watch Observatory
(DigWatch) The Australian government has released draft legislation and opened a public consultation on a new package of reforms to the Privacy Act, aimed at strengthening individuals’ control over personal information and addressing privacy risks associated with emerging technologies, including AI and wearable devices such as smart glasses. The proposed Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026 would introduce a fair and reasonable test for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. According to the government, this is intended to prevent organisations from collecting more information than necessary or using it in ways individuals would not reasonably expect. The package would also strengthen consent requirements and restrict businesses from trading personal information without clear permission. – Australia proposes privacy reforms addressing AI and smart-glasses risks | Digital Watch Observatory
(Jonathan Greig – The Record) A cyberattack is causing service issues for the pharmaceutical and healthcare technology company McKesson. The company released a public notice and filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday evening saying it is in the early stages of investigating a cybersecurity incident that involves an unnamed third-party application. The hackers have gained access to the application and are exfiltrating data, McKesson said. “At this time, customers may experience intermittent service degradation that we believe may be related to this incident,” McKesson chief technology officer Francisco Fraga said in a statement. “We are aware of these issues and continue to monitor the situation closely.” – Pharmaceutical giant McKesson warns of ‘service degradation’ following cyberattack | The Record from Recorded Future News
(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs) ValleyRAT doesn’t always need to disguise itself as a cracked game or a fake browser update. It can also hide behind something much more ordinary: an application that looks like adware and appears to serve a legitimate purpose. Kaspersky’s latest analysis shows how this works. Researchers found a malicious installer that uses a modified version of QN Wallpaper, a legitimate Chinese desktop wallpaper application, to deliver the ValleyRAT backdoor while making the infection look like a normal software installation. Researchers found a malicious installer that uses a modified version of QN Wallpaper, a legitimate Chinese desktop wallpaper application, to deliver the ValleyRAT backdoor while making the infection look like a normal software installation. The interesting part is how the attackers make the first stages look harmless. The installer can present itself as software associated with DingTalk, Google Chrome or Tencent Meeting, depending on the filename, while quietly deploying the modified wallpaper application in the background. That gives the victim something familiar to look at while the real work happens elsewhere. It’s a simple trick, but it removes one of the most obvious warning signs of a malware infection: the feeling that something unusual has just been installed. – ValleyRAT: When Legitimate Software Becomes a Malware Delivery Tool
(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs) Chinese-linked cyber espionage group Fire Ant has spent the past year quietly graduating from hacking individual computers to hacking the infrastructure that connects them. Sygnia’s new report traces how the group expanded from compromising hypervisors into routers, authentication servers, and Linux management hosts, the unglamorous plumbing that decides who gets to log in where and what gets recorded when they do. The investigation started with something that looked like a minor configuration mistake. A tunnel interface showed up as active on a Cisco IOS XR router with no corresponding entry in the configuration history, no commit anyone could point to that explained how it got there. “The investigation began with an anomaly that appeared, at first, to be a configuration inconsistency: a tunnel interface became operational on a Cisco IOS XR router even though no corresponding running configuration or commit history could explain its creation. The interface was associated with a specific VRF and used GRE encapsulation, but standard configuration review did not provide a reliable explanation for how it appeared.” reads the report. “This discrepancy became a key investigative lead because it suggested that the device’s operational state could no longer be trusted to match the configuration and audit records visible to administrators.” – China-linked Fire Ant Hides Inside Trusted Infrastructure
UK – Saudi Arabia
(Donald Self – Al Arabiya) British Trade Minister Anas Sarwar made Saudi Arabia his first stop outside Europe since taking office, looking to strengthen relations with the Kingdom particularly building economic cooperation through trade and investment. The visit comes against the backdrop of a, yet unsigned, landmark UK-GCC free-trade agreement. He sat down for an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya English’s Tom Burges Watson at the residence of the British ambassador in Riyadh. – UK trade minister looks to deepen Saudi ties on first trip outside Europe
US
(Reuters) US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation to the White House following months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Driscoll, who officials said is close to US Vice President JD Vance, becomes the latest senior official who has either been fired or pushed out in Hegseth’s Pentagon. It also comes as the United States is still engaged in a war with Iran, with thousands of US Army soldiers deployed in the Middle East. – US Army Secretary Driscoll tenders resignation, source says
(Reuters) US President Donald Trump on Monday told reporters it was too soon to discuss his potential successor, sidestepping talk of a 2028 campaign by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Asked about an NBC News report that the Pentagon chief has discussed a potential White House run, Trump said Hegseth is doing a “fantastic job, but it’s very early to talk about that”. “We have to get through the midterms first,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. – Trump says it’s ‘very early’ to talk about a Hegseth 2028 presidential campaign
(Todd Harrison – Defense One) The munitions shortage caused by the Iran War is real and growing. While the precise magnitude of the shortfall is uncertain, the question now is how quickly the window of vulnerability can be closed. With no apparent path for passing a supplemental or regular appropriations bill by Oct. 1, the Pentagon will likely spend at least the first quarter of fiscal 2027 under a continuing resolution. The debate over what happens next will naturally focus on how much funding Congress ultimately provides, but for the munitions the military urgently needs, money is only one scarce resource. The other is time, and the two are fundamentally different. After the election, Congress can fund what it did not in FY 2026, but it cannot buy back the time lost. The Pentagon’s own budget documents reveal the unforgiving timelines. The published procurement lead time—the time it takes from when an order is placed to when the first delivery arrives—is 31 months for the much-needed PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptor, 34 months for the most recent lot of THAAD interceptors, and 40 months for Tomahawk Block Va. If appropriations are enacted in December and new orders placed immediately, the MSE missiles would begin to arrive no earlier than roughly July 2029, THAAD interceptors in October 2029, and Tomahawks in April 2030. – We can buy more weapons. We can’t buy more time. – Defense One
(Daniel Terrill – Defense News) Congressional leaders are demanding answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the independent office tasked with reviewing new military programs and weapons pulled all public reports from its website. “One of the most important functions of (the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation) is to provide transparency about the safety and effectiveness of major weapon systems,” wrote Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) in a letter this month. Warren is a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, and Norcross is a ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. “A key element of this function is the release of publicly available annual reports that detail findings by DOT&E to make sure critical deficiencies are fixed so service members are not harmed or killed,” they added. Despite legal obligations to publish the annual reports it sends to Congress online, the office now requires a Defense Department-issued common access card to access the collection, which includes material that has been available to the public for years. – Pentagon scraps public weapons testing reports amid oversight concerns
(James M. Lindsay – Council on Foreign Relations) How much debt is too much debt? That used to be a question at the forefront of congressional elections. It was only sixteen years ago that the so-called Tea Party took the country by storm pledging to tame the federal deficit. With the national debt then standing at $14 trillion, “sequestration” suddenly became Washington’s hottest buzz word as President Barack Obama and the Republican-controlled Congress temporarily slowed the growth of discretionary federal spending. That was then. Today, the sequestration caps are a distant memory and government red ink barely gets a mention in a public debate dominated by gas prices, data centers, artificial intelligence, and claims that the Democratic Party has gone communist. But the debt and deficit numbers are staggering. Earlier this month, the national debt hit $40 trillion. That amounts to roughly $117,000 for everyone living in the United States. The U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio now stands at 125 percent. To put that number in perspective, the massive federal borrowing needed to finance the U.S. effort in World War II only pushed the debt-to-GDP ratio to 106 percent. – The National Debt Hit $40 Trillion, But It’s Not an Issue in the Midterms | Council on Foreign Relations
US – North Korea – South Korea
(Reuters) North Korea and the United States are showing signs of resuming dialogue, a South Korean lawmaker said on Tuesday after being briefed by Seoul’s intelligence agency. There had, however, been no confirmation of specific contacts between Pyongyang and Washington, he told a televised briefing. “Regarding a North Korea-US summit, there was an assessment that talks could be possible at anytime,” lawmaker Youn Kun-young told reporters. – North Korea and US show signs of resuming dialogue, South Korean lawmaker says
US – Russia – Ukraine
(Reuters) US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made clear to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on Monday that no economic relief for Russia or agreements on other issues were possible until its war in Ukraine ends, a source familiar with the ministers’ bilateral meeting said. Bessent met bilaterally with Siluanov on the sidelines of a G20 finance leaders meeting in Asheville, North Carolina. The Russian finance minister’s first in-person G20 appearance since Russia invaded Ukraine has irritated European officials who are working on more sanctions against Russia. – Bessent told Russian minister no economic relief until Ukraine war ends, source says
War In Iran – Middle East – Gulf
(AFP) Mediator Qatar on Tuesday urged the United States and Iran to return to negotiations after they renewed tit-for-tat attacks. On Sunday, the US carried out strikes on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran quickly retaliating by attacking US military targets in the Middle East. After six months of war, the foes remain at an impasse, with Iran disrupting traffic in the strategic Strait of Hormuz with its blockade and the US persisting with a counter-blockade of Iranian ports. – Qatar urges US, Iran to resume talks after flare-up
(Al Arabiya) Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday called on both Iran and the US to sincerely implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which he said was the only way forward. Dar’s comments, carried by the foreign ministry’s X account, came during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek. The ministry’s account shared photos of the meeting describing it as a “warm exchange,” adding that the ministers “exchanged views on bilateral relations and regional developments and reaffirmed the importance of continued engagement.” – MoU ‘only way forward’: Pakistan’s PM says amid US-Iran deadlock
(AFP) Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that Tehran would “immediately” reciprocate if the United States returned to a June deal aimed at ending their war. – Iran president says Tehran would ‘immediately’ reciprocate if US returns to June deal
(AFP) Three “unknown projectiles” have struck a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a British maritime agency said Monday after a fresh flare-up in the US-Iran war. – Tanker hit by ‘three unknown projectiles’ in Hormuz strait: UK maritime agency
(Cristina Stassis – Defense News) U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Ken Wilsbach met with Israeli military leaders last week to discuss what Israel Defense Forces called the “regional situation” of the Iran war just before the conflict passed its six-month mark. Wilsbach met with Israel Defense Forces Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and the Commander of the Israeli Air Force Maj. Gen. Omar Tishler on Aug. 23, the IDF announced in a Wednesday social media post, with a photo of Wilsbach and Zamir shaking hands. – US Air Force chief of staff discusses ‘regional situation’ with Israeli military officials
(The Soufan Center) Over the weekend, Iran retaliated against U.S. strikes on its missile launchers on Larak Island by striking Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which hosts a significant U.S. military presence. The U.S. has been unable to achieve its strategic objectives despite the use of overwhelming airpower and economic pressure, but Iran’s ability to unsettle the global economy and energy markets has not, as Tehran anticipated, coerced the U.S. to end the campaign. Recognizing the vulnerability of the Arab Gulf states to Iranian strikes, the U.S. military posture in the Persian Gulf is likely to return to its pre-1991 “over the horizon” presence, de-emphasizing forward positioning in large Gulf bases. Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” allies have not been decisive “force multipliers” for Tehran’s war effort, calling into question Iran’s decades-long forward defense strategy. – The Iran War, Six Months In – The Soufan Center
