Is JP Morgan complicit in illegal Iranian funding? The US Treasury Department is looking into #JPMorgan Chase's relationship with a hedge fund that is said to be a part of Iranian oil trader Hossein #Shamkhani's network, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Iranian opposition sources claim that the US Treasury opened an investigation into a company belonging to Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, a senior #Iranian who was formerly the commander of the Iranian Navy, the Minister of Defense and the Secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security. The twist in the plot is according to the same sources, that the bank suspected of being connected with that company is none other than the American JP MORGAN bank (considered the largest bank in the USA).

Bundeswehr prepares plan for Operation Germany in case of war with Russia The #Bundeswehr (Germany’s armed forces) prepared a secret plan in case of a military conflict with #Russia, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported. According to it, the 1,000-page "Operation Germany" plan lists all infrastructure facilities that deserve special protection, and also contains a procedure for defense or "measures to deter Russia on NATO’s eastern flank." The plan says that in such a case, Germany would become "the center of concentration for tens of thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands of troops" that would be transferred to the east, as well as military equipment, food and medical supplies. Throughout the year, German military officials have repeatedly stated the need to prepare for a military conflict with Russia, which they say could take place in five years. In particular, Defense Minister Boris #Pistorius has stated this on several occasions. In July, the Bild newspaper reported that the Bundeswehr had drawn up a secret plan outlining the order of military and civilian action in the event that NATO troops needed to be moved to the alliance’s eastern flank. Commenting on German Foreign Minister Annalena #Baerbock's remarks in July that Russia allegedly posed the greatest threat to security in Europe, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova said that this was nothing but "monstrous nonsense." The diplomat expressed hope that politicians in Germany would finally realize the deadlock and counterproductivity of their anti-Russian line and its danger for their own country.

Russia says its forces downed 5 ATACMS missiles that Ukraine fired into Bryansk Region #Ukrainian forces launched #ATACMS missiles toward Russia’s #Bryansk Region overnight, but air defenses shot down five of them and damaged another one, the Russian Defense Ministry said. "At 3:25 a.m. this morning the enemy struck a site on the territory of the Bryansk Region with six ballistic missiles. According to confirmed data, US-made ATACMS tactical missiles were used. As a result of an anti-missile battle, five missiles were shot down and one was damaged by crews of S-400 and Pantsir missile defense systems," the ministry said. According to the ministry, the missiles fell on the technical territory of a military site in the Bryansk Region, causing a fire, which was extinguished. "There are no casualties or damage," the ministry stated.

NATO's involvement in Ukrainian conflict to lead to disaster, says Scholz #NATO’s involvement in the #Ukrainian conflict will lead to a #catastrophe, such a development must be prevented, German Chancellor Olaf #Scholz said at a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden in #Berlin. "Our position is clear. We support Ukraine as much as we can. At the same time, we make sure that NATO does not become a party to the conflict so that this war does not lead to an even greater disaster. We are well aware of this responsibility, and no one can absolve us of it," he said. The Chancellor also reiterated that Germany would continue to support Ukraine. On October 17, Germany updated the list of weapons transferred to Kiev. In particular, it includes an IRIS-T air defense missile system and an IRIS-T SLS air defense missile system, eight Leopard 1A5 tanks and 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles. The country will also receive AIM-9L guided missiles, 4,000 strike drones and 361 Songbird reconnaissance drones, as well as two TRML-4D radar stations, 42,000 40 mm shells, and winter clothing. Germany is the second largest arms supplier to Ukraine after the US. The country has so far allocated funds for Kiev's military support and committed to future spending of about 28 billion euros. Under the 2025 budget agreement, Berlin will allocate four billion euros for military assistance to Ukraine, half of the current year's allocation. The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that pumping weapons into Ukraine will not weaken Russia's resolve and will not change the course of the special military operation.

France's #Macron again bans Israeli companies from participating in #Euronaval Defense exhibition - An other BIG failure of the French Republic !!!

Ramstein group meeting likely to take place in Brussels on October 17 Another meeting of the #Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein group) is likely to be held on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers’ meeting at the bloc’s headquarters on October 17, a source in #Brussels reported. He confirmed that the group’s summit, initially set to take place in Germany on October 12, has been postponed due to changes in US President Joe Biden’s plans. "The #Ramstein summit has been postponed due to the changes in plans of some participants. The possibility to hold consultations at the working level is currently under consideration," the diplomat pointed out. "They are most likely to be held on the sidelines of the [NATO] ministerial meeting on October 17," he added. However, the diplomat added that the summit "remains on the agenda" because "the US has to officially hand the authority to coordinate" weapons supplies to #Kiev over to NATO. #NATO has not yet officially commented on the situation. On October 8, Joe Biden decided to postpone his visit to Germany and Angola, set for October 10-15, due to a major hurricane speeding towards Florida.

[BREAKING] #CENTCOM attacked Houthis in Yemen #Yemen: The Saudi Al-Hadth channel reported that the US attacked the #Houthis' air defense base in the #Hodiedah area. Initial reports say heavy damage was cause to the targets.

Who gave Israel the info about Nasrallah's location and schedule? In the Arab world, the issue of how Israel obtained the exact information about Hassan Nasrallah's movements that led to his assassination is being intensively dealt with. According to a "Lebanese defense source", the information was given to Israel by an "Iranian source". According to the report, it was expected that Nasrallah would arrive at the underground Hezbollah headquarters after the funeral of Muhammad Hossein Sarur, the commander of Hezbollah's air force who was also killed by Israel. At the same time as this information, supporters of Nasrallah are attacking the Lebanese army on social networks. According to the information they publish, Israel's informant on Nasrallah's movements was none other than an officer in the Lebanese army who was considered by the Hezbollah leadership to be their man and who enjoyed access to information about Nasrallah. The Lebanese army vigorously denies these accusations against the officer.

NATO invades Russia in Kursk Region, ex-US intel officer says #NATO has invaded #Russia, Scott #Ritter, a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector, said, commenting on the situation in the borderline Kursk Region. "What happened in Kursk is that NATO invaded Russia," he told the Danny Haiphong YouTube channel. "This isn’t ‘Russia invaded Ukraine so that the Ukrainians get to attack Russia.’ No, Russia didn’t invade Ukraine. Russia responded to the Ukrainian war crimes that were put in place after the 2014 Maidan coup," Ritter pointed out. "The force that’s going in is the force that’s handbuilt by NATO," he emphasized. Ritter added that the Russian army was learning from the situation in the Kursk Region and would use that experience in the future. On August 6, Russia’s borderline Kursk Region came under a massive attack from Ukraine. According to the latest reports, 12 civilians have been killed, while 121 people, including ten children, have suffered injuries. Over 120,000 people have either left or been evacuated from the Kursk Region. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev has lost up to 2,030 troops, 35 tanks and 31 armored personnel carriers since fighting began in the Kursk area.

Captured Ukrainian serviceman says foreigners take part in attack on Russian Kursk Region Ruslan Poltoratsky, a serviceman of Ukraine’s 80th Airborne Assault Brigade detained by Russian border guards, has said that foreign nationals are taking part in the cross-border attack on the Kursk Region. "When we crossed the border with Russia, at first I thought there was some line noise. But then I distinguished what they were saying - they were speaking English, Polish, maybe even French. I did not understand anything, I said into the walkie-talkie - 'repeat, repeat,' hearing some gibberish," the captured serviceman said during the interrogation, the video footage of which was released by the FSB. "When they had already taken positions [in the Kursk Region], they also went on the air with their superiors, with ours as well, and I also heard them saying something in English and in some other language. Something about houses, chaos," he said. At the same time, he heard the sound of shooting coming from the two-way radio. Earlier, Major General Apty Alaudinov, deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department and commander of the Akhmat special forces commando unit, said there were a lot of French and Polish mercenaries in the Kursk area. According to Defense Ministry updates, Kiev has lost up to 1,350 military personnel, 29 tanks and 23 armored personnel carriers since it launched the cross-border attack.