Plot to assassinate Putin is direct path to nuclear war, says State Duma speaker

A plot to #assassinate Russian President Vladimir #Putin and discussions on the subject constitute a crime and a serious threat to global security, said Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the State Duma (the Russian parliament’s lower chamber). "The plot to assassinate Putin, mere discussions of it is a crime, a serious threat to global security, a direct path to nuclear war. All international institutions should view it as a basis for an investigation," Volodin wrote on Telegram. He believes that amid the current tough confrontation, the Russian society needs to "understand the level of challenges and threats that we are facing, and, therefore, understand their own responsibility."

According to Tucker #Carlson, the Joe #Biden administration considered assassinating Putin. The US journalist said that, in general, the US authorities intended to engage in a suicidal confrontation with Moscow. In particular, former US Secretary of State Antony #Blinken was "pushing so hard for a real war" between the US and Russia in his last two months in office.

Tehran: Hamas leader Haniyeh Assassinated... An other great Victory for ISrael and Intel

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard deployed in Yemen

🔶️ The IRGC has stationed missile and drone trainers and operators in Yemen, as well as personnel providing tactical intelligence support to the Houthis, U.S. and Middle East officials told Semafor. The IRGC, through its overseas Qods Force, has also overseen the transfer to the Houthis of the attack drones, cruise missiles, and medium-range ballistic missiles used in a string of strikes on Red Sea and Israeli targets in recent weeks, these officials said.

🔶️ The Houthis say that its military operations are designed to aid the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, which has been locked in a three-month war with Israel. On Monday, the Pentagon said the Houthis struck a U.S.-owned and -operated container vessel, the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, in the Red Sea, but caused no significant damage. The Houthis fired a second anti-ship ballistic missile into the southern Red Sea, the U.S. Central Command said, but it “failed in flight and impacted on land in Yemen.”

🔶️ The IRGC’s overall presence inside Yemen is overseen by Gen. Abdul Reza Shahlai, a Tehran-based commander whom the Trump administration attempted to assassinate in a 2020 drone strike inside Yemen, U.S. and Mideast officials said. American intelligence believes Shahlai is deeply involved in Tehran’s overseas terrorist operations through his role as the Qods Force’s deputy commander.

🔶️ This includes a role in overseeing an unsuccessful 2011 Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s then-ambassador to the U.S., Adel al-Jubeir, at a Washington, D.C. restaurant. Shahlai, who’s been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, also helped oversee IRGC attacks against U.S. military personnel in Iraq over the past two decades. The Department of Justice offered $15 million in 2019 for information related to the commander’s operations and networks.

🔶️ Last month, the White House declassified some information related to Iran’s backing of the Houthis, including the intelligence and targeting support. But it didn’t reference the IRGC’s on-ground presence in Yemen, or Shahlai’s role in the Houthis’ operations.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy Unveils New Warship

According to local reports, the Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis boasts advanced radar-evading technologies, a 14-day naval endurance, and a 2,000 nautical-mile radius.

In a ceremony held on Saturday in Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas, The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy unveiled a new batch of military equipment and systems, including a new domestically manufactured warship.

The Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis is a corvette-type vessel with a catamaran design which, according to Iran, has advanced radar-evading technologies, a 14-day naval endurance, and a 2,000 nautical-mile radius. The vessel is named after the deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units who was assassinated alongside Quds Force commander Quasem Suleimani in a 2020 US drone strike.

Hezbollah’s media outlet Al Mayadeen reports that the IRGC Navy chief, Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, said during the ceremony that the corvette is akin to a “mobile maritime city.” According to Colton Jones on Defense Blog, analysts have identified several weapon systems, including 30mm and 20mm cannons, lightweight torpedoes, and six box launchers which can presumably house C802 anti-ship missiles.