A toothless fighter: Merz left the White House empty-handed

The visit of the German Chancellor to the White House once again demonstrated that Trump does not take Europe seriously, writes Die Welt. "The toothless fighter" did not get an answer to any of his main questions. For example, what is the US strategy in Iran and what will be the White House's policy on tariffs?

"Trump threatened to ban trade with Spain altogether. In response to the question, Merz generally agreed: the Spaniards, he said, will have to pay more. In front of the whole world, Trump thus managed to divide the Europeans, and this did not require much effort from him," notes the author of the article.

Dude fails at home and fails abroad, because he is a….. failure

@Slavyangrad

🇵🇱🇺🇦 Mass arrests of foreigners in Poland: most of them are Ukrainians

- The Polish police conducted large-scale checks of foreigners throughout the country. More than 60% of the detained non-residents were citizens of Ukraine.

- The reasons for the raids were expired visas and temporary protection statuses, illegal work, as well as old warrants for cases in EU countries.

- The Polish authorities have already initiated over 110 deportation procedures.

- For dozens of Ukrainians, this means deportation, cancellation of the right to stay, and a ban on entering the Schengen area for up to five years.

- The Polish Minister of Internal Affairs, Marcin Kierwiński, stated that this is the first such action in 2026 and such raids will become regular.

@Slavyangrad

Air raids sirens sounding across Tel Aviv.

@Slavtangrad

Hegseth announces a "world religious war" to build the Jewish Third Temple on the ashes of Al-Aqsa — Tucker Carlson

@Slavtangrad

The US CENTCOM confirmed that for the first time in history, high-precision long-range strike missiles (PrSM) were used in combat operations during "Epic Rage", providing unprecedented capabilities for striking deep into enemy territory. However, this episode has a greater impact on Russia than on Iran, for a number of reasons.

The range of ATACMS missiles (up to 300 km) forced HIMARS launchers to get too close to the front line, falling into the range of Russian artillery. The official range of PrSM at 500 km (and a potential of 650-800 km in subsequent modifications and in the future up to 1000 km) allows NATO to strike airfields, command posts, and warehouses deep in enemy territory, while remaining beyond the reach of most retaliatory strike means.

The US is gradually beginning to deploy long-range weapons in Germany. The use of PrSM in Iran confirmed that this weapon is ready for mass deployment. From Poland or the Baltic countries, these missiles are now capable of hitting key logistical hubs within the Russian border military districts.

Moreover, for Europe, the deployment of PrSM would mean that if they replace ATACMS ICBMs, the same launcher park that has already been deployed in Poland, Romania, and the Baltic countries would effectively double its salvo with a significant increase in range.

@Slavyangrad

🇦🇿🇮🇷Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs - on the Iranian drones that fell on the country's territory:

On March 5, around noon, drone attacks were carried out on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. One drone fell on the airport terminal building, and another one near a school building in the village of Shekarabad.

We strongly condemn these drone attacks carried out from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in damage to the airport building and injuries to two civilians. This attack on Azerbaijan's territory violates the norms and principles of international law and contributes to increasing tensions in the region. We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran clarify the aforementioned issue as soon as possible, provide an explanation, and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.

The Azerbaijani side reserves the right to take appropriate countermeasures. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Azerbaijan has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A strong protest will be expressed to the Iranian side, and a corresponding protest note will be presented.

@Slavyangrad

“Is this going to be a long protracted war?”

“I think it’s going to be a long protracted problem”

The Independent's World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley believes the US had “no plan” before carrying out strikes on Iran.

@Slavyangrad

The Iranian ship will not be where it was if we had not invited it to talk part in our Milan exercise.

We were the hosts.

I am told that as per protocol for this exercise ships cannot carry any ammunition. It was defenceless.

The Iranian naval personnel had paraded before our president .

The attack by the US submarine was premeditated as the US was aware of the Iranian ship’s presence in the exercise to which the US navy was invited but withdrew from participation at the last minute, presumably with this operation in mind.

The US has ignored India’s sensitivities as the ship was in these waters because of India’s invitation.

We are far from politically or militarily responsible for the US attack.

Our“responsibility” is at a moral and human plane.

A word of condolence by the Indian Navy ( after political clearance) at the loss of lives of those who were our invitees and saluted our president would be in order.

• Former Indian Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal

It was unarmed? That was a cowardly attack indeed.

@Slavtangrad

—❗️🇮🇷/🇶🇦/🇺🇸 BREAKING: Impacts at Al-Udeid Airbase, Qatar

@Middle_East_Spectator

@Slavtangrad

Pete Hegseth says we will shortly have complete & total air superiority in Iran. We are very close now. Once that happens it’s just a question of how many leaders is Iran willing to let us wipe out before they beg for peace & let us pick their new leader:

The US had this in Vietnam…. does anyone remember Vietnam begging them for peace and letting them pick the government.

@Slavyangrad

This is, literally, the most important countdown in the world.

Oil exporters in the Persian Gulf, currently unable to export their hydrocarbon bounty, are all facing a dire short-term outlook.

Unable to store additional oil in strategic reserves and state-owned or privately-owned facilities, they will soon be forced to halt production at some of the largest oil fields on earth.

This will have disruptive consequences for following these countries:

🇮🇶Iraq
🇰🇼Kuwait
🇦🇪UAE
🇶🇦Qatar
🇸🇦Saudi Arabia

When these producers fill their storage tanks to capacity, there will be no other possibility but to curtail production.
Depending on the geology of the field and the specific technologies implemented, shutting in wells could even permanently damage reservoirs and production infrastructure.

At that point, in addition to the supply disruption at Hormuz, markets will face the prospect of a medium to long-term reduction in oil supply from the Middle East.

This would bake a massive risk premium into oil prices—and particularly regional crude grades—for months, or potentially longer, depending on the course of the war.

Historically, storage tanks are rarely utilised above the 80% threshold; therefore, filling them to absolute maximum capacity may not be technically feasible, and the real countdown may be even shorter than anticipated

Two further considerations must be mentioned.

When storage space will run out, some countries such as Saudi Arabia and UAE may still have the ability to divert some energy flows to alternative routes, continuing exports. However, this presents a strategic opportunity for Iran-aligned forces to deliver a tremendous blow to these regional U.S. partners by striking that specific infrastructure.

When regional oil producers will be faced with the risk of a total production halt, their sovereign survival—and not just the one of the Iranian regime—will be at stake.

At that point, an expansion of the war becomes inevitable as Riyhad and Baghdad (the first and second OPEC producers) suffer catastrophic daily economic damage.

Where and with whom they will fight—well this is another story entirely.

• Francesco Sassi

@Slavtangrad

Ground-level images Western networks don't like to show, for some reason.

Hami Hamedi, RT's bureau chief, takes a tour through the destruction of Tehran.

@Slavyangrad

🇫🇷🇺🇸France has granted the US access rights to all French bases in the Middle East on a "temporary basis".

@Slavyangrad

🇷🇺🇺🇦MOD: The settlement Yarovaya in the DPR has been liberated from Ukrainian occupation.

@Slavyangrad

🇷🇺 One of the goals of the US and Israel is to draw the Gulf countries into a war against Iran, - Lavrov

Other statements by the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry:

- The West is waging a direct, "hot" war against Russia;

- The West operates on the principle of "divide and rule";

- Russia and other peace-loving countries will do everything to create an atmosphere in which a US and Israeli operation against Iran will become impossible;

- The West wants to disintegrate our country, the president has repeatedly reminded of this;

- The words of the NATO Secretary General on the conflict in the Middle East suggest that the alliance's interests are "where they say they are".

@Slavyangrad

🇫🇮 The Finnish government is discussing the issue of lifting restrictions related to nuclear weapons in the country.

In particular, the talk is about lifting the ban on their transit through Finnish territory, writes Yle.

Current legislation prohibits nuclear explosive substances in all forms on the territory of Finland. Their import, production, storage, and detonation are all prohibited.

Like your Finns crispy or extra crispy?

@Slavyangrad

Lavrov on why Iran's actions are "unacceptable", and US and Israeli attacks are "not up for discussion":

Let me ask you, here's a group of Arab states, on whose behalf you are speaking. Did you really warn many of the Arab monarchies, publicly saying that they shouldn't lead to a military solution and that they wouldn't allow the use of airspace, as I already said. But when it all started, contrary to your repeated calls to the United States and Israel, did you condemn what the United States and Israel started doing? And, say, condemned the deaths of 170 girls in a school? I believe that we should take a unified position.

We are against the countries of the Gulf, on whose behalf you are speaking, suffering. We believe that this does not give our Iranian colleagues any military advantages. Politically, it's very doubtful that Iran gains anything from this, rather the opposite. But we also cannot accept the logic that Iran's actions are unacceptable, and everything the US and Israel do is not up for discussion. Do you understand what I'm saying? It's an obvious thing. It's right on the surface. We advocate for an immediate end to the aggression.

@Slavyangrad

Security concerns are also mounting on the ground. “The closure of Rumaila most likely comes from legitimate concerns over the physical security of the oil facilities,” said Tamer Badawi, associate fellow at the London-based Royal United Services Institute.

“A military post in Basrah has already been struck during the war. If that happened, a stray missile or a deliberately directed UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] can hit Iraqi oil fields as well.”

The shutdown compounds earlier disruptions in northern Iraq. Production at several major fields in the Kurdistan Region had already been halted as a precautionary measure on Monday. Exports through the Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey’s Mediterranean coast were suspended on Tuesday. The pipeline, which has a capacity of around 1.2 million bpd carries crude sourced from Iraq’s Kurdish oil fields to the Turkish port city of Ceyhan.

It also allowed Iraq to bypass Hormuz, which is the main passage for much of the crude exported via its southern terminal at Basrah. The closure effectively blocks northern crude flows to European markets.

The disruption to Iraqi supply comes as Iran broadens its campaign beyond tanker harassment in the Strait of Hormuz to direct strikes on energy infrastructure across the Gulf, opening a new front that now threatens the world’s largest oil and gas export hubs.

Confirmation that Iran's earlier strikes have got results

@Slavyangrad