La presidenta del Banco Central Europeo (BCE), Christine Lagarde, confirmó este jueves lo que era un secreto a voces: su marcha anticipada de la institución el próximo mes de febrero, en vez de octubre de 2027, como estaba previsto. Lo que ha precipitado la decisión ha sido la complicada situación política que atraviesa su país, Francia, en vísperas de unas elecciones presidenciales la próxima primavera que pueden llevar por primera vez a la extrema derecha al Elíseo. Lagarde asegura “no poder permanecer neutral” en esta campaña, como le exigiría su cargo, aunque ha dado a entender que ella no es candidata. La salida de Lagarde activa una remodelación de la cúpula del BCE. Y permite que las capitales pacten los nombramientos de la principal institución financiera de la eurozona al inicio de un ciclo electoral que marcará el rumbo del continente.
© Heiko Becker (REUTERS)
IISS study questions overreliance on American support and ‘overdependence on expensive, high-end systems’
Gulf states are going to have to reconfigure their trillion-dollar defences given the damage inflicted on their economies and the questionable continued value of US bases in the face of Iranian attack, according to a study by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
The report says that in the weeks before the 8 April ceasefire, 12 regional states, overwhelmingly in the Gulf, faced 4,670 Iranian one-way attack drones and more than 1,400 ballistic missiles. Nearly half were aimed at the United Arab Emirates. Although the vast majority were repelled, one estimate of the damage to energy infrastructure cited by the report is put as high as $58bn (£43bn).
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© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
© The New York Times
File image.
A tanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after a small boat approached the vessel and attached two explosive devices directly to its hull, temporarily disabling it in an attack that marked a departure from previous strikes on commercial shipping in the waterway.
The attack occurred on October 29, approximately 25 nautical miles northeast of the port city of Khasab in Oman, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.
UKMTO said the tanker was approached on its port side by a small boat that attached two explosive devices above the waterline before departing.
Maritime security firm Vanguard Tech identified the vessel as the Panama-flagged Louise 1, a 159,092-deadweight-ton tanker owned by Panama-based Aquarius Maritime Ventures.
“The subsequent blasts resulted in a fire in the engine room which temporarily disabled the vessel. The fire is now reported as extinguished and vessel is continuing to its next port of call,” UKMTO said, noting that all crew members were safe.
The method differs from previous Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, which have mainly involved anti-ship missiles and one-way attack drones.
The incident was the latest in a series of maritime security emergencies reported on October 29. Earlier in the day, UKMTO received a report from a company’s security officer that another tanker had been struck by an unidentified projectile while completing an outbound transit of the strait.
An even earlier vessel-fire report by the agency was subsequently attributed to a regional trading dhow that caught fire, listed and sank.
“Regional authorities have identified the vessel as a dhow, which was involved in a maritime security incident, igniting a large fire onboard causing the dhow to list and sink. Local authorities have confirmed that the crew have been safely evacuated,” UKMTO said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said three oil tankers had exploded and caught fire after striking naval mines while attempting to pass through what Tehran described as the unauthorized southern route of the strait.
The Corps said in a statement the vessels had “switched off all their radar and navigation systems” and ignored warnings from Iranian forces before hitting the mines.
Iran’s regular army subsequently announced that a fourth tanker had struck mines east of the strait while operating in what it described as a “restricted and dangerous area.”
The developments come as the United States maintains that its forces have cleared the internationally recognized primary shipping routes of naval mines.
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi challenged that assertion earlier in the week, writing on X: “Prove your Hormuz mine-clearing claim with independent evidence, not statements!”
The International Maritime Organization recorded 34 confirmed attacks on vessels between September 28 and October 27, most of them in the Strait of Hormuz.
Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained severely restricted on October 30, with AIS-based tracking recording just five commercial vessel crossings by the morning, compared with a pre-crisis average of approximately 85 per day.
Eight vessels had crossed in the preceding 24 hours, while 497 ships were waiting outside the strait and another 163 were stationary inside the Gulf.
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SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
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The post Iran Turns to Hull-Mounted Explosives in New Tactic Against Tankers in Hormuz appeared first on South Front.
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Axios correspondent Barak Ravid on October 30 deleted a post reporting that the United States carried out what he described as “self-defense strikes” against missile-launch sites in southern Iran, as Iranian media reported an encounter between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a hostile fighter jet near the Strait of Hormuz.
Ravid also stated that the U.S. has been carrying out such attacks since last week. He did not, however, publicly explain why he deleted the post.
Separately, Iran’s Tasnim and Mehr news agencies reported that the IRGC Aerospace Force intercepted a hostile fighter jet near Qeshm Island and forced it to withdraw from the area.
Neither agency identified the aircraft’s nationality or model, and no details were provided about whether it sustained damage.
Click to see full-size image.
Iran’s Fars News Agency separately reported explosions near Qeshm and Sirik overnight, while the official IRNA news agency reported that residents of Qeshm had heard explosions and observed flashes in the sky and over surrounding waters.
Local sources cited by IRNA said air defense systems on the island had been activated. The agency also suggested that some of the sounds could have been warning shots fired at vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Click to see full-size image.
The developments come amid growing preparations for a possible resumption of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Axios reported earlier in the week that Washington and Israel were coordinating plans for a week-long bombing campaign targeting Iranian leadership, energy facilities and nuclear infrastructure. The Associated Press separately reported that Washington had warned regional allies to prepare for renewed strikes and Iranian retaliation.
More recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East briefed President Donald Trump at the White House on military options for Iran.
Taken together with recent developments, the reports suggest that renewed attacks could begin in the days following the November 3 U.S. midterm elections.
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SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
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The post U.S. Strikes on Iranian Missile Sites Reported Amid Fighter Jet Confrontation (Photos) appeared first on South Front.
Voters who backed the US president in the last election are saying they can’t vote for him today: ‘This is an abomination’
Outside the Ukrainian educational and cultural center in a quiet Pennsylvania suburb of Jenkintown, on the outskirts of Philadelphia, a banner expressed unqualified gratitude: “Thank you USA for supporting Ukraine.”
Inside, however, the sentiment was altogether different. Irene Skulsky, a retired teacher in her late 70s, voiced indignation at Donald Trump’s sudden turn against her ancestral homeland, which she believed had come close to killing her son, Darko, and a desire to punish his fellow Republicans at next week’s midterm elections.
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© Composite: Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty Images
© Composite: Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty Images
© Composite: Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty Images
Le forze armate iraniane hanno annunciato che quattro petroliere sono state colpite da mine navali e hanno preso fuoco nello Stretto di Hormuz, che gli Stati Uniti sostengono di aver in gran parte bonificato. Secondo i Guardiani della Rivoluzione, tre imbarcazioni avrebbero urtato le mine mentre tentavano di attraversare una rotta non autorizzata nella parte meridionale dello Stretto, dopo aver disattivato radar e sistemi di navigazione e ignorato gli avvertimenti iraniani. L’esercito di Teheran ha successivamente riferito di un quarto tanker danneggiato e incendiato nelle stesse circostanze. Non sono state precisate le bandiere delle navi né la provenienza dei carichi.
L’agenzia britannica per la sicurezza marittima UKMTO ha segnalato un’imbarcazione in fiamme al largo dell’Oman e una petroliera colpita da un proiettile, di cui non è stata identificata la natura. In quest’ultimo episodio non si registrano feriti. Non è ancora chiaro se le due navi siano tra le quattro che, secondo Teheran, avrebbero urtato mine navali nello Stretto di Hormuz.
L’Iran considera illegittimo il passaggio delle navi lungo il corridoio meridionale dello Stretto di Hormuz, vicino alle coste dell’Oman. “La rotta non autorizzata è minata e gli armatori e gli equipaggi che decidono di attraversarla lo fanno a proprio rischio e pericolo”, hanno avvertito i Guardiani della Rivoluzione, invitando a non dare credito alle “assurdità diffuse sui social media dal Centcom”, il comando militare americano per il Medio Oriente e l’Asia.
Gli incidenti riaccendono lo scontro tra Iran e Stati Uniti sulla sicurezza di una delle rotte marittime più importanti al mondo, attraverso la quale, prima della guerra, transitava circa un quinto degli idrocarburi mondiali. Washington sostiene di aver bonificato dalle mine iraniane i principali corridoi di navigazione e di aver contribuito, dall’estate, al transito di 1,5 miliardi di barili di petrolio. Teheran contesta però questa ricostruzione e avverte che le rotte non autorizzate restano minate.
“Dimostrate di aver bonificato lo Stretto di Hormuz con prove indipendenti, non con semplici dichiarazioni“, ha affermato il portavoce dei Guardiani della Rivoluzione, Hossein Mohebi. In un comunicato separato, i Pasdaran hanno inoltre annunciato di aver catturato un drone da ricognizione statunitense. Secondo quanto riferito, il velivolo, identificato come un MQM-170, sarebbe stato intercettato da un’unità di guerra elettronica durante un’operazione nella parte occidentale dello Stretto di Hormuz.
Un frammento di missile ha ferito un cittadino saudita. L’autorità di protezione civile saudita ha dichiarato che alcune schegge cadute, in seguito all’intercettazione di due missili, hanno ferito un cittadino saudita a Riad. L’intercettazione ha provocato anche danni a un’abitazione e a un veicolo, ha dichiarato il portavoce delle autorità all’agenzia di stampa statale.
Il portavoce degli Houthi, Yahya Saree, ha affermato di avere condotto sei operazioni militari contro l’Arabia Saudita. Secondo la dichiarazione di Saree, gli Houthi hanno preso di mira i seguenti obiettivi: la raffineria petrolifera di Ras Tanura con un missile balistico, l’impianto Aramco ad Abqaiq con un missile, l’Aeroporto internazionale Re Khalid di Riad con numerosi missili, l’aeroporto internazionale King Fahd di Dammam con un drone, la raffineria petrolifera di Rabigh con un missile balistico, il Quartier generale delle truppe saudite nella regione di Najran. L’Arabia Saudita non ha ancora confermato le affermazioni degli Houthi.
Il presidente americano Donald Trump non permetterà che il conflitto con l’Iran si trasformi in una “guerra senza fine”. Lo ha assicurato il vicepresidente degli Stati Uniti, JD Vance, durante un incontro con gli elettori organizzato da Fox News a Fort Worth, in Texas, difendendo la campagna militare dell’amministrazione americana in Medio Oriente.
Il comandante del Comando Centrale degli Stati Uniti (CENTCOM), l’ammiraglio Brad Cooper, ha informato il Presidente americano Donald Trump sulle opzioni militari da adottare nei confronti dell’Iran durante una rara visita alla Casa Bianca. Lo riporta il Wall Street Journal, citando fonti ufficiali americane e altre fonti con conoscenza diretta della questione. Secondo il quotidiano, all’incontro hanno partecipato anche il Segretario alla Difesa Pete Hegseth e il Capo di Stato Maggiore Congiunto, il generale Dan Kyne. L’incontro ha fatto seguito a una riunione tenutasi ieri alla Casa Bianca, durante la quale gli ufficiali militari hanno incontrato il vicepresidente JD Vance, ha affermato una fonte.
L'articolo Medio Oriente nel caos, 4 petroliere in fiamme a Hormuz, missili Houthi contro l’Arabia. Trump con i vertici militari Usa alla Casa Bianca proviene da Affaritaliani.it.
A Christine Lagarde (París, 70 años, de soltera Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette) le gusta enviar mensajes con su atuendo. Elige cuidadosamente sus pañuelos (hay quien cree adivinar en ellos sus intenciones) y, en momentos especialmente delicados, comparece en la rueda de prensa del BCE con un broche característico: un búho. En un mundo, el de la política monetaria, habitualmente dividido entre halcones, banqueros con poca tolerancia por la inflación y gatillo fácil a la hora de subir tipos, y palomas, más sensibles al efecto del dinero caro sobre la economía, Lagarde se desmarcaba con esta otra ave.
Cuando los estadounidenses voten en las elecciones de mitad de mandato del 3 de noviembre, los europeos esperarán con inquietud los resultados. Es comprensible que, después de casi dos años de abusos del Gobierno de Trump, estén ansiosos por un cambio de rumbo. Un buen resultado de los demócratas transmitirá una señal política importante, incluido el deseo de mejorar las relaciones con los aliados hoy menospreciados. Sin embargo, los europeos harían bien en moderar sus expectativas sobre los cambios que va a haber en la práctica, porque se tardará tiempo en reparar el daño causado.
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