Azerbaijan Confirms Secret German-Russian Ukraine Talks
Azerbaijan's president has confirmed that former senior German and Russian officials met secretly in Baku this month to weigh ways of ending Russia's war against Ukraine – and said his own government knew nothing about it."Our territory was used for such a meeting without our knowledge," Ilham Aliyev said alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Tuesday, adding that flight records placed the talks between July 12 and 14.The German side, according to Bloomberg, included Ronald Pofalla, once Angela Merkel's chief of staff, and Matthias Platzeck, a former SPD leader and premier of Brandenburg. On the Russian side were Valery Fadeyev, who heads the Kremlin's human-rights council, and Viktor Zubkov, a former prime minister who now chairs Gazprom's board.Merz said his government had no knowledge of the meeting – a distinction that matters, since those in the room were former officials, not an authorised negotiating team.Still, the channel signals…
Pentagon Reveals Nearly 100 U.S. Troops Injured in Iran War
Nearly 100 U.S. service members have been injured since fighting with Iran resumed on July 7, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Tuesday, adding that 96% have already returned to duty and that the "vast majority" suffered minor concussions or other non-life-threatening injuries, according to statements confirmed by CBS News and CNN.Even when U.S. air defenses intercept incoming drones and missiles, nearby detonations can still generate powerful blast waves capable of causing mild traumatic brain injuries among personnel sheltering in bunkers or defensive positions. Medical researchers have long identified blast overpressure as a leading cause of concussion in modern warfare, even without a direct hit.Parnell's disclosure came after CNN reported that the Pentagon has been slow to publicly confirm non-fatal casualties, relying primarily on the Defense Casualty Analysis System – a public database that Pentagon officials acknowledged may lag battlefield reporting by days or weeks – rather than routine military…
Bulgaria Seeks Approval to Host US Tankers
Bulgaria will ask parliament to approve deploying up to eight U.S. aerial refuelling aircraft at Bezmer Air Base to support American operations in the Middle East.Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced the request on July 20, saying the tankers would be stationed at the base 260 kilometres southeast of Sofia. By demanding a formal parliamentary vote, Radev casts strict constitutional compliance against the previous administration, which placed U.S. aircraft at a civilian airport near Sofia without legislative approval. The planes left the airport in June after the deployment prompted controversy.The request sharpens a contradiction in Bulgarian policy. In June, Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said Sofia would stop providing weapons to Ukraine and urged talks between Kyiv and Moscow. The decision reversed the military-support policy pursued in 2024 and 2025, despite a 10-year Bulgarian-Ukrainian security agreement signed only in March.The pattern reads as a hedge. By offering Bezmer as a node for…
US Not Ready for a Wider Iran War
An American official told The Washington Post that the Pentagon is preparing for a wider war with Iran, days after three US service members were killed in Jordan and Iraq, according to The Times of Israel.The official said dwindling stockpiles of air defense and long-range munitions, along with limited troop and aircraft surge capacity, would constrain expanded operations, warning that current supplies cannot safely sustain the campaign, according to The Times of Israel.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly rejected shortage concerns, telling reporters the US has no munitions shortage and that stockpiles could sustain the war indefinitely, according to ABC News.A CSIS analysis of the war's first 39 days found the US had expended roughly half its Patriot interceptor stock and 20 to 24 percent of its SM-3 and SM-6 inventory, with full Patriot replenishment projected to take three years, according to CSIS.The Pentagon's official casualty count stood at 16…
UK Sanctions Gold Networks Funding Sudan’s War
Britain has sanctioned 11 people and companies accused of using gold, procurement and financial networks to support both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).The designations, announced on July 16, target Sudanese individuals and companies trading internationally through markets including Dubai and Hong Kong. British officials called illicit gold and finance central to the war economy: official gold exports were worth $1.5 billion across 2024 and 2025, while several billion dollars more may be smuggled out each year, according to the government.Britain accuses Abu Dharr Abdul Nabi Habiballa Ahmmed of financing and sustaining RSF operations from outside Sudan through real estate, conflict gold and holding companies based in Dubai. Prodigious Real Estate Management Supervision Services was sanctioned as part of his alleged commercial network.The UK also designated RSF-linked procurement operatives Mazin Fadlalla and Ahmed Hashim, alongside Natwest Logistics LLC and Aoun Commercial Brokers LLC, which are…
US Confirms Deaths in Iranian Strike on Jordan Base
CENTCOM confirmed that two US service members were killed in action and one remains missing after Iranian ballistic missiles and drones struck Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on July 17, according to a US Central Command statement.Four additional service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals and have since been discharged, while others treated for minor injuries have returned to duty, according to the same CENTCOM statement.The deaths mark the first American combat fatalities from direct Iranian fire since March and bring the US military death toll in the war to at least 17, according to Stars and Stripes.The base was struck twice in the preceding week, with an earlier attack wounding about 20 troops before the July 17 strike that killed the two service members, according to Stars and Stripes, citing The New York Times.Muwaffaq Salti, also known as Azraq, has been targeted repeatedly since the war began;…
