🇮🇱🇦🇿 Israel sells Azerbaijan quarter-billion dollars’ worth of MLRS, accompanying precision missiles
Elbit Systems has secured a $235M contract to supply PULS rocket artillery and EXTRA-MR rockets to an unnamed “European client.”
Sources told Israeli business newspaper Globes the client is Azerbaijan – Israel’s not often talked about South Caucasus ally.
PULS (Precise & Universal Launching System) is Israel’s modular take on the MLRS concept, supporting calibers ranging from 122-370 mm, and featuring a maximum firing range up to 300 km. EXTRA-MR rockets have a range up to 80 km, and 120 and 20 kg precision payload variants.
The system has been used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, and by Azerbaijan’s military during the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Amid souring Turkish-Azerbaijani ties over Baku’s highly publicized hijab ban, the Israeli weapons contract may be another opportunity for Tel Aviv to shore up relations with Azerbaijan as regional powers jostle for influence, and Netanyahu envisions a network of blocs including an Israeli-UAE ‘Hexagon Alliance’ and a ‘Sunni Diamond Alliance’.
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Elbit Systems has secured a $235M contract to supply PULS rocket artillery and EXTRA-MR rockets to an unnamed “European client.”
Sources told Israeli business newspaper Globes the client is Azerbaijan – Israel’s not often talked about South Caucasus ally.
PULS (Precise & Universal Launching System) is Israel’s modular take on the MLRS concept, supporting calibers ranging from 122-370 mm, and featuring a maximum firing range up to 300 km. EXTRA-MR rockets have a range up to 80 km, and 120 and 20 kg precision payload variants.
The system has been used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, and by Azerbaijan’s military during the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Amid souring Turkish-Azerbaijani ties over Baku’s highly publicized hijab ban, the Israeli weapons contract may be another opportunity for Tel Aviv to shore up relations with Azerbaijan as regional powers jostle for influence, and Netanyahu envisions a network of blocs including an Israeli-UAE ‘Hexagon Alliance’ and a ‘Sunni Diamond Alliance’.
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🇮🇷🇺🇸 Excessive US demands are hindering progress in the Iran-US negotiations — Iranian FM spox
Speculation about the details of nuclear negotiations is baseless: there have been no talks with the American side, so there is no need to discuss technical details with other parties, says Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.
His other key statements:
🔴 As for relations with neighboring countries, statements by some officials from Gulf nations don’t contribute to strengthening trust and good neighborly relations
🔴 Despite the fact that the territory of these countries was used in the joint military aggression by the US and the Zionist regime — a fact officially acknowledged by US authorities — Iran exercised restraint
🔴 Iran’s defensive responses are not acts of aggression, and good neighborly relations require neighboring countries to prevent their territory from being used to threaten Iran’s security
He also added that Russia-Iran relations, especially following the ratification of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, are at an excellent level.
On October 19, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with his Russian counterpart in Tehran, which focused on topics of common interests regarding the Caucasus, Europe, the Ukraine conflict, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, as well as nuclear issues.
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Speculation about the details of nuclear negotiations is baseless: there have been no talks with the American side, so there is no need to discuss technical details with other parties, says Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.
His other key statements:
He also added that Russia-Iran relations, especially following the ratification of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, are at an excellent level.
On October 19, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with his Russian counterpart in Tehran, which focused on topics of common interests regarding the Caucasus, Europe, the Ukraine conflict, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, as well as nuclear issues.
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Britain will deploy RAF Typhoon fighter jets to defend Saudi cities and critical infrastructure against escalating Houthi drone and missile attacks, the UK Ministry of Defence announced.
The deployment will also include an A400M transport aircraft and military advisers. British officials stressed that the fighter jets will perform defensive missions and will not carry out strikes against the Houthis.
The UK will also extend its aerial refueling support for Saudi military operations, including those targeting Houthi positions in Yemen.
British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said the additional support follows recent Houthi attacks, particularly the strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport.
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🇮🇱 Israel launches IDF space force, touts dawn of new ‘blue-and-white Star Wars’ era
The IDF’s space force will be armed with the ability to monitor, defend and launch attacks from space against “any targets” across “vast areas,” securing Israel’s place as a “regional and global power,” Katz promised.
The militarization of space will also be a boon to Israel’s economy, and “transform” Israel into a “start-up nation of space technology in the civilian realm,” he said.
Katz’ comments coincided with the IDF’s appointment of a new commander for its Space Division – Brig. Gen. ‘Shin’, and declaration of space as “an active combat domain” whose significance would grow in the coming years.
👉 The reshuffle creates a new entity separate from the Israeli Air Force, which has up to now been charged with missile testing, launches and defense, satellite deployments, and other space-related activities.
Alongside the new space division, the IDF also established a new Robotics Brigade, and reactivated the 500th Armored Brigade, originally disbanded in 2003, amid an expansion of the ground forces.
The official rollout of the new Space Division comes two months after the defense ministry announced plans for new “offensive” space-based capabilities, including ASAT systems and “weapons capable of striking targets on Earth from space.” The latter would allow Israel to attack Iranian satellite networks, launch preemptive strikes, and potentially, engage in geo-warfare against its enemies.
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💬 “I welcome the IDF’s decision to establish a Space Division as part of a policy I am promoting: to transform Israel into a military space power – a blue-and-white Star Wars,” Defense Minister Israel Katz tweeted Tuesday.
The IDF’s space force will be armed with the ability to monitor, defend and launch attacks from space against “any targets” across “vast areas,” securing Israel’s place as a “regional and global power,” Katz promised.
The militarization of space will also be a boon to Israel’s economy, and “transform” Israel into a “start-up nation of space technology in the civilian realm,” he said.
Katz’ comments coincided with the IDF’s appointment of a new commander for its Space Division – Brig. Gen. ‘Shin’, and declaration of space as “an active combat domain” whose significance would grow in the coming years.
Alongside the new space division, the IDF also established a new Robotics Brigade, and reactivated the 500th Armored Brigade, originally disbanded in 2003, amid an expansion of the ground forces.
The official rollout of the new Space Division comes two months after the defense ministry announced plans for new “offensive” space-based capabilities, including ASAT systems and “weapons capable of striking targets on Earth from space.” The latter would allow Israel to attack Iranian satellite networks, launch preemptive strikes, and potentially, engage in geo-warfare against its enemies.
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🔊 “Seven major internet cables run beneath the Strait of Hormuz,” and “we [Iran] just want them to know that new targets will be unveiled,” Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Hossein Mohebbi cautioned, in an apparent reference to the US.
Earlier, Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei warned that Iran could target undersea internet cables, data centers, and AI facilities linked to the US if another war broke out.
The remarks come amid US media reports that the White House and the US Department of War had prepared fresh military options, including the possible use of the GBU-43/B, known as the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) or so-called “Mother of All Bombs,” against Iran.
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🇮🇷🇵🇰 2,000 trucks stranded as Pakistan shuts Iran border trade
Pakistan has temporarily stopped trading with Iran via the Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan crossings in Balochistan, leaving around 2,000 trucks — including tankers carrying liquefied gas — stuck on both sides of the border. The formal reason for the move was a memorandum from Pakistan's Ministry of Commerce that cancelled the earlier permit for trade with Iran.
Islamabad describes the step as a security measure and a way to fight smuggling, while Tehran points to "technical issues." Passenger traffic through Gabd-Rimdan, however, is still running.
The closure stands in contrast to the situation on Pakistan's other borders. Trade with Afghanistan has been effectively stopped since October 2025 due to a dispute over terrorism, with turnover dropping by 74%, while a ceasefire with India is holding, though trade remains very low.
The closure seems especially unexpected given Pakistan's role as a mediator between the US and Iran: in June, a 14-point memorandum was signed with its involvement, and in August and September Pakistani officials visited Tehran. In addition, in spring 2026, Pakistan opened six land routes for the transit of third-country goods to Iran through its ports, getting around the maritime blockade.
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Pakistan has temporarily stopped trading with Iran via the Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan crossings in Balochistan, leaving around 2,000 trucks — including tankers carrying liquefied gas — stuck on both sides of the border. The formal reason for the move was a memorandum from Pakistan's Ministry of Commerce that cancelled the earlier permit for trade with Iran.
Islamabad describes the step as a security measure and a way to fight smuggling, while Tehran points to "technical issues." Passenger traffic through Gabd-Rimdan, however, is still running.
The closure stands in contrast to the situation on Pakistan's other borders. Trade with Afghanistan has been effectively stopped since October 2025 due to a dispute over terrorism, with turnover dropping by 74%, while a ceasefire with India is holding, though trade remains very low.
The closure seems especially unexpected given Pakistan's role as a mediator between the US and Iran: in June, a 14-point memorandum was signed with its involvement, and in August and September Pakistani officials visited Tehran. In addition, in spring 2026, Pakistan opened six land routes for the transit of third-country goods to Iran through its ports, getting around the maritime blockade.
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The hactivist collective says it’s cracked the phone of an IDF Yahalom Special Operations Engineering Unit commander, gaining access to confidential info about the unit’s activities and personnel.
Handala says it has ‘hundreds’ of secret documents and visual materials, including footage recorded by IDF military drones, providing Israel’s adversaries with potentially militarily significant info on enemy tactics.
The group released a portion of the recovered material, showing Yahalom operators descending into enemy tunnels wearing GoPro cameras to record their movements, drone footage of the destruction of underground infrastructure, and even intimate video of unit members apparently celebrating the birthday of one of their comrades.
The Yahalom hack comes on the heels of Handala’s breach of the IDF Media Intelligence Monitoring & Analysis Unit, Israel’s top psychological warfare unit, a few days earlier.
Handala’s hacks have provided an unparalleled window into the activities of Israel’s military and political establishment, from amateur photos of Netanyahu and members of his inner circle, to embarrassing info compromising Israeli diplomacy, to the Israeli establishment’s links to the Epstein class, sensitive military info and an array of MIC technical data.
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🇪🇺EU pushes deeper into Arctic amid growing geopolitical tensions
The EU has a new Arctic strategy that asks for closer security ties with NATO, more icebreakers, and better monitoring of sea activity.
The plan adds new hubs for keeping sea and undersea cables safe, along with work to build Arctic shipping routes and energy infrastructure.
The strategy arrives as tensions rise over Greenland, with US President Donald Trump still pressing for American control of the Danish territory.
The Arctic is also key for Russia, which runs the world's largest icebreaker fleet, controls much of the Northern Sea Route, and holds huge energy resources there.
Moscow has warned many times against NATO's growing military presence in the Arctic, saying the region should stay a place of cooperation, not confrontation.
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The EU has a new Arctic strategy that asks for closer security ties with NATO, more icebreakers, and better monitoring of sea activity.
The plan adds new hubs for keeping sea and undersea cables safe, along with work to build Arctic shipping routes and energy infrastructure.
The strategy arrives as tensions rise over Greenland, with US President Donald Trump still pressing for American control of the Danish territory.
The Arctic is also key for Russia, which runs the world's largest icebreaker fleet, controls much of the Northern Sea Route, and holds huge energy resources there.
Moscow has warned many times against NATO's growing military presence in the Arctic, saying the region should stay a place of cooperation, not confrontation.
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The Russian Cosmos 2612 spacecraft OSINT observers spotted trailing a Finnish ICEYE-X36 satellite by ~5 km closed the gap to within 200M before pulling back, “doing a lot of maneuvers to maintain that position of that close approach,” Adam Marsh, VP of LeoLabs, an orbital tracking company, told NYT.
Swope suggested that the Russian craft either completed all its tasks, or even called off a planned strike on ICEYE after the Trump administration waived sanctions scheduled to take effect October 18.
After the weekend’s close encounter, Cosmos 2612 reportedly changed its orbital trajectory, slowing down and pulling away to 400+ km from the ICEYE craft.
Russia hasn’t said what its Cosmos satellites are used for. Western analysts think they’re inspector satellites designed to snoop on enemy spacecraft, intercept data or even engage in signal spoofing.
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🇮🇷🇵🇰 Pakistan’s powerful army chief travels to Tehran to pitch compromise deal to restart Iran-US talks
Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Iran on Tuesday to discuss regional efforts to end the Iran-US war amid media reports that Pakistan and Qatar have floated a new mediation proposal to resume talks.
The proposal reportedly involves the release of interest accrued on $6B in Iranian funds frozen in Qatari accounts, and the resumption of quiet IAEA inspections of Iranian nuclear sites.
Sources told London-based, Qatari-owned outlet The New Arab that the proposal has received tentative US backing.
👉 Iran’s Fars News Agency reported Munir’s visit may have been linked to efforts to lower oil prices, and that previous negotiations aimed at addressing this issue proved fruitless.
Munir’s trip and the reported Pakistani-Qatari “middle ground” proposal comes against the backdrop of a surge in regional diplomatic activity, including talks between Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Tehran on Monday.
An IRGC spokesman warned Tuesday that the resumption of US attacks would be met with Iranian counterstrikes on regional infrastructure, including internet cables passing through Hormuz.
Araghchi said Sunday that Iran’s ‘7-day diplomatic proposal’ to the US remains on the table, and would involve Iran reopening Hormuz in exchange for the US easing oil sanctions, ending its naval blockade, halting hostilities, and unfreezing frozen Iranian assets.
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Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Iran on Tuesday to discuss regional efforts to end the Iran-US war amid media reports that Pakistan and Qatar have floated a new mediation proposal to resume talks.
The proposal reportedly involves the release of interest accrued on $6B in Iranian funds frozen in Qatari accounts, and the resumption of quiet IAEA inspections of Iranian nuclear sites.
Sources told London-based, Qatari-owned outlet The New Arab that the proposal has received tentative US backing.
Munir’s trip and the reported Pakistani-Qatari “middle ground” proposal comes against the backdrop of a surge in regional diplomatic activity, including talks between Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Tehran on Monday.
An IRGC spokesman warned Tuesday that the resumption of US attacks would be met with Iranian counterstrikes on regional infrastructure, including internet cables passing through Hormuz.
Araghchi said Sunday that Iran’s ‘7-day diplomatic proposal’ to the US remains on the table, and would involve Iran reopening Hormuz in exchange for the US easing oil sanctions, ending its naval blockade, halting hostilities, and unfreezing frozen Iranian assets.
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Media is too big
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🇮🇷🤥 Deep state won’t let Trump quit Ukraine; he just wants it to stop blocking Russian diesel
With diesel prices at record highs, “Trump is in desperate straits on the economic front, and he needs to get Russian diesel fuel and Russian oil out into global markets,” Prof. John Mearsheimer told Daniel Davis’ Deep Dive podcast.
The “pressure” Trump is putting “on the Ukrainians not to hit oil and gas infrastructure inside of Russia” isn’t about “cutting Ukraine loose” or “abandoning” it, but about economics, Mearsheimer said, reacting to criticism directed at Trump by pro-Ukraine forces in the US and Europe.
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With diesel prices at record highs, “Trump is in desperate straits on the economic front, and he needs to get Russian diesel fuel and Russian oil out into global markets,” Prof. John Mearsheimer told Daniel Davis’ Deep Dive podcast.
The “pressure” Trump is putting “on the Ukrainians not to hit oil and gas infrastructure inside of Russia” isn’t about “cutting Ukraine loose” or “abandoning” it, but about economics, Mearsheimer said, reacting to criticism directed at Trump by pro-Ukraine forces in the US and Europe.
💬 “He can’t abandon Ukraine because the deep state won’t let him do that. It’s just not acceptable to the deep state, and Trump is no match for the deep state,” the professor stressed. “We’re not going to ‘abandon’ Ukraine. What we’re going to do is work overtime to make sure that Ukraine doesn’t get in the way of getting Russian oil and diesel fuel out into global markets.”
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Blackwater founder Erik Prince was hired by Congo to stop the plunder of its mineral wealth, yet conflict gold still reaches global markets, with the UAE – the world’s second-largest physical gold hub – helping to launder it.
Gold is the UAE’s largest export after oil, yet the country has no gold mines or domestic mining industry. Instead, it relies entirely on imports, with Dubai at the heart of the trade. Dubai’s foreign gold trade reached $272 billion in 2025, up 60% year-on-year and accounting for 13-15% of global gold trade.
Amid the Iran war, gold remained the UAE’s top non-oil traded commodity in H1 2026, reaching $192.3 billion, up 48.8% year-on-year.
An estimated 95% of officially exported gold from Central and East Africa ends up in the UAE, much of it mined in Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. But smuggled gold works just fine for the UAE, too.
In 2022, the UAE launched a joint venture with Congo to buy gold from South Kivu. Though the venture collapsed in 2024, UAE gold purchases continued after Rwanda-backed M23 seized the region, with conflict gold routed via Rwanda.
The Dubai Multi Commodities Center, a leading global precious metals hub, has rules to curb illicit gold trading. But due-diligence requirements remain voluntary – and are easily ignored.
Critics say Dubai has become a laundering hub for Swiss and British gold traders. The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the global gold industry’s leading standard-setter, faces accusations of failing to curb Dubai’s illicit gold trade and blindly approving gold from its 'Good Delivery' refiners.
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