Turkey And Russia Deepen Military Ties With SAF
Sudan's Armed Forces (SAF) have deepened military relationships with Turkey and Russia over the past year, receiving Turkish combat drones already active in the war while negotiating additional Russian fighter jets and air-defense systems as part of a proposed naval-base arrangement that remains in draft form. Turkey's drones are a confirmed, deployed capability; the new Russian jets are not yet delivered, tied instead to an unresolved 25-year Port Sudan lease first floated to Sudan's former government nearly two decades ago. Both arrangements sit alongside longer-standing support from Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, giving SAF a broader coalition of state backers than the RSF's UAE-centered network, according to Georgetown University's Security Studies Review. Turkish Drones Reshape Air War Turkish-made Bayraktar Akinci drones, built by Istanbul-based Baykar, have become SAF's most visible counter-drone weapon. Defence-Blog reported, citing video from the Turkish outlet Clash Report, that SAF has destroyed at least six…
Iran Considers Strikes on Europe and Ukraine
Iran has assessed striking US military assets in Europe. It has separately warned Ukraine of retaliation, signaling that Tehran's response to any renewed escalation in its war with Washington could extend well beyond the Middle East. Two regime insiders told the Financial Times that Iranian forces have examined striking US assets in Bulgaria, whose Bezmer air base was approved last month for American refuelling aircraft, and potentially Cyprus, where a drone hit a British base in March. The insiders said Iran has also considered attacking undersea fiber-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict resumes in full. One insider said Tehran was preparing to expand the war if President Donald Trump made good on threats to strike Iranian infrastructure; the other said Iran would place "no limits" on its response, including hitting Europe. The reported deliberations follow Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei's decision this month to elevate hardliners…
UAE Suspends Trade With Iran After Missile Accusation
The United Arab Emirates has suspended all trade, commercial and financial transactions with Iran, reopening a diplomatic and economic rupture that first emerged after the United States and Israel went to war with Iran on February 28. According to the UAE Ministry of Defense, cited by Reuters, the country's air defenses detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran toward maritime traffic, with one splashing down outside the UAE's territorial waters and the second landing inside them. No casualties or damage were reported, and neither Reuters nor U.S. Central Command has independently verified the launch data. The UAE's Foreign Ministry said the suspension would remain in effect "until further notice," citing regional escalations that undermine peace and security. Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected the accusation as baseless. Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the incident as a "false flag operation" and said the allegation contradicted the principle of good-neighborly relations. The denial came a…
Russia Threatens Britain Over Ukraine Drone War
Russia has warned Britain of unspecified "consequences" after The Sunday Times reported on August 15 that Ukraine had used British-made drones to strike targets inside Russian territory for the first time. The newspaper, citing Ukrainian military sources, said drones including BAE Systems' Nyan system had hit oil refineries near Moscow, Yaroslavl and Volgograd over six months. Ukraine still relies primarily on its own drones for deep strikes, but the British-built systems mark the first publicly reported use of UK-manufactured drones against targets on Russian soil. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in comments carried by Russian state news agency TASS, said Moscow was entitled to treat British missile forces' publicly declared involvement in strikes on Russia as direct participation in the war, "with all ensuing consequences." Lavrov did not name a specific missile system, and his remarks followed a separate warning from the Russian Embassy in London that deeper British involvement…
Trump Cuts Iran Talks as Hormuz Crisis Widens
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that no talks with Iran were taking place or scheduled, cutting off the diplomatic track meant to replace the interim Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Washington and Tehran that expired on Monday. The statement directly contradicted special envoy Jared Kushner, who had told Fox News a day earlier that talks with Iran were "probably more robust than it's maybe ever been." Trump's reversal left the diplomatic track that was meant to replace the expired MOU without any clear path forward. Strait Status Disputed Trump also posted a map on Truth Social labelling the Strait of Hormuz "New US Territory," while maintaining that the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports remained in force and that the strait itself was open to shipping. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told parliament that the strait would not reopen until Washington met the conditions of the MOU:…
Russia Builds Sahel Air Bridge
Russia's Africa Corps has built a hybrid air logistics network moving weapons, ammunition, personnel and equipment to Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, according to a report published August 12 by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies. Flight-tracking data from January 2025 to July 2026 identified at least 75 flights by Russian military and military-linked aircraft touching the three countries, with Burkina Faso receiving the most (56), followed by Mali (38) and Niger (6). The network blends civilian operators, including Aviacon Zitotrans and Abakan Air, with state units such as the Ministry of Defense's 223rd and 224th Flight Units, letting Moscow mix civilian operator certificates with military lift. State aircraft typically stage through Russia's Khmeimim air base in Syria and Libya's Al-Khadim airfield before continuing south, while private carriers favor commercial hubs in the UAE, Algeria and Türkiye. Africa Corps replaced much of Wagner's role in Africa after the group's 2023…
