Aviation News – North American Aerospace Defense Command detected and tracked multiple Russian military aircraft operating inside the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) this week, underscoring renewed long-range patrol activity near North American airspace and prompting routine monitoring by U.S. and Canadian forces.
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NATO maintains intensive surveillance amid Russian Arctic training and weapons testing
DUBAI- A Defense News investigation found evidence linking the Russian cargo airline Aviacon Zitotrans to more than 100 apparent missions conducted on behalf of the UAE government and its royal family since mid-2025. The investigation analyzed thousands of flight records, aviation filings, leaked company documents, and emails.
The airline has been sanctioned by the United States, Canada, and Ukraine for supporting Russia’s war effort. Several aircraft identified in the UAE-related flight records are separately designated as blocked property by the U.S. government.
Gravitas | US attack could trigger WW III: Russian planes in Tehran, Israeli jets, US warships in action
Story by Jatin Verma
As elections in Israel and America draw closer, tensions in West Asia are rising again. The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, with 10,000 troops is heading towards the region. With Tehran too prepared for a large-scale retaliation, speculation is growing over the possibility of US and Israel striking Iran as early as this weekend. The first indication came earlier this week as US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited Israel and met Netanyahu on Monday. IDF reportedly simulated new strikes on Iran.
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According to reports, dozens of fighter jets flew more than 800 miles from Israel, passed through Syrian and Iraqi airspace and turned around at Iran’s border. This may also have been a bid to provoke Iran into firing on the jets, thereby creating pretext for an Israeli strike. According to reports, US and Israel are preparing to resume attacks on Iran even before the Israeli general election, scheduled on October 27.
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In another indication of impending hostilities, several Russian military aircraft have reportedly landed in Iran, as Moscow prepares to evacuate personnel from the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The first time Russia did so was on February 28, when the Iran war started. Amid heightened tensions, the US has ordered the departure of non-emergency employees and their families from Saudi Arabia and has also reportedly planned to withdraw staff from other missions in the region. Additionally, there has reportedly been a surge in the departure of wealthy expatriates, diplomats and members of royal families from West Asia in the last few days.
Iranian Russians are Russians living in Iran or Iranians of Russian descent. Russians populate various regions, but mostly in those regions which had been under direct Russian military occupation in the past. This was an indirect result of the outcome of the last Russo-Persian Wars.[1] Nowadays there are Russians located in the southern regions of the country as well (such as Bushehr), where many of them work as technicians and nuclear experts, on for example the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
Quick facts Regions with significant populations, Languages …
As the transatlantic allies adapt to Europe’s new geopolitical realities, maintaining unity against Russia will be critical. Türkiye will have a pivotal role to play in this long-term effort.
The Europe Program in Washington explores the political and security developments within Europe, transatlantic relations, and Europe’s global role. Working in coordination with Carnegie Europe in Brussels, the program brings together U.S. and European policymakers and experts on strategic issues facing Europe.
This paper is part of a series of four publications in a project run by the Carnegie Endowment’s Türkiye and the World Initiative, analyzing the forces at play in the Euro-Atlantic area since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The project examines the European Union’s geopolitical evolution, Türkiye’s relations with Russia and China, and European and Turkish aspirations for strategic autonomy, and draws conclusions for the United States and the transatlantic partnership.
During the Cold War, Türkiye presented itself as the steadfast guardian of Europe’s southern flank against the Soviet threat. It stood in lockstep with its Western allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and few, if any, questioned Ankara’s foreign policy trajectory or its commitment to NATO.
But this once firm conviction has weakened in the past decade. Türkiye’s deepening entanglement with Russia and setbacks in its relations with the United States and some of its European allies have muddled the country’s image as a staunch member of the Western security architecture.
Ankara’s ability to maintain a constructive dialogue with Moscow (alongside Kyiv) even after Russia’s attack against Ukraine has been beneficial in some cases, as evidenced by Türkiye’s role in the 2022 grain deal and the complex prisoner swap that freed numerous Western hostages including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.1 These ties could also be helpful in the future for peacemaking efforts and post-conflict scenarios in Ukraine.
However, as a longtime NATO member, Türkiye’s recent hedging has created an impression of dissent within the Western front against Russian aggression. As the transatlantic allies adapt to Europe’s new geopolitical realities, maintaining unity against Russia will be critical. Türkiye will have a pivotal role to play in this long-term effort.
This paper aims to explain the drivers and complexities behind Russian-Turkish convergences while considering their implications for Euro-Atlantic security. It examines the deepening engagement of the two countries in the security and energy domains, analyzes their strengths and weaknesses, and offers ideas on a way forward that would contribute to Euro-Atlantic security by safeguarding both Türkiye’s and its NATO allies’ long-term interests.
Russian diesel returns to Turkey and Brazil after Trump deal
At least two tankers have already set sail for traditional buyers of Russian fuel. Moscow lifts export ban after deal between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin
Ibrahim Kalın, director of Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT), will join officials from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Ankara’s partners in the Mecca Defense Alliance, in a visit to Tehran, an Iranian official said on Monday. Turkish sources speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) also confirmed the participation of Kalın to the talks, which, according to Iranian media outlets, will be held on Monday. The talks will focus on “regional security.”
“As agreed, Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief General Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın will participate in this meeting,” said Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. He said the meeting will be held with Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei.
“This four-party meeting in Tehran could represent an important and effective step towards building lasting regional security, and we hope this initiative will contribute to establishing a stable region,” said Kani in an interview with state television, without elaborating.
He said that the meeting was proposed during a visit by Pakistani army chief Asim Munir to Tehran last week.
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
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