❗️Israel will be severely punished for the murder of Haniyeh, Iran's Supreme leader Ali Khamenei said.

"The criminal terrorist Israeli regime killed our dear guest in our house and [forced us to] grieve, but it also prepared the ground for its harsh punishment," Khamenei was quoted as saying by the IRNA news agency.

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❗️Russia strongly condemns the assassination of the head of the Hamas politburo, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Moscow, in the light of the escalation in the Middle East, calls on all parties to exercise restraint.

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❗️The United States should understand the degree of responsibility for the murder of Ismail Haniyeh - it could lead to a large-scale war in the region, a Hamas representative told Sputnik.

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Israel will not achieve its goals — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the murder of Ismail Haniyeh

The Turkish President condemned the murder, calling it a despicable act aimed at intimidating Palestinians.

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US deployment of nuclear arms in Japan means greater risk of nuclear war in Asia Pacific – Okinawan activist

"The increased military buildup by the US and Japan in the Asia-Pacific region means a greater risk for war, particularly nuclear war," Hawaiian activist with Okinawan roots Robert Kajiwara tells Sputnik.

During the Security Consultative Committee (“2+2”) meeting in Tokyo on July 28, the US and Japan discussed the extension of Washington's nuclear umbrella over Japan citing an alleged "threat" from Russia, China and North Korea. It is expected that later this year the US and Japan will specify under what conditions the US will use its nukes to "protect" Japan, according to Newsweek.

The Chinese media believes the US is planning to deploy nuclear weapons in their military bases in Japan, as it did during the Cold War when hundreds of US nuclear warheads were stationed in Okinawa. However, in that scenario, Japan would be viewed as a nuclear-weapon state, a potential battleground, according to Global Times.

"If there's any country that should be against nuclear arms, it should be Japan, given the use of nuclear weapons against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan should be strongly against the storing of nuclear weapons in its territory. Unfortunately Japan hasn't learned anything from World War II and appears destined to repeat its past mistakes," Kajiwara concludes.

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Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has promised a tough response to the assassination of Hamas politburo chief, Ismail Haniyeh.

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Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto is in Russia's capital, Moscow, planning to meet with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, the Indonesian ambassador told Sputnik.

Subianto was elected president in March, but has not yet assumed office.

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📹Russia's President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Indonesian President-elect and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto today.

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❗️Key statements by Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a briefing:

▪️Russia remains open to negotiations over Ukraine;

▪️Russia strongly condemns the Israeli attack that led to the death of the head of the Hamas politburo

▪️The Israeli attack that led to Haniyeh's death is directed against attempts to establish peace in the region, and may destabilize the situation.

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US-led Pacific drills increase the threat of war instead of ensuring 'security' – peace activist says

"RIMPAC [US-led large-scale military drills Exercise Rim of the Pacific] is just another form of US militarization and imperialism, which increases the threat of war, and therefore it threatens the lives of people in the Pacific," Hawaiian peace and human rights activist with Okinawan roots Robert Kajiwara tells Sputnik.

"Not to mention, the US military is one of the largest polluters in the world, and has poisoned the water in both Hawaii and Okinawa."

The drills have been taking place from June 27 to August 1 in and around the Hawaiian Islands. They have brought together 29 nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, more than 150 aircraft and 25,000 personnel.

This year's RIMPAC is regarded as the largest to date in terms of the number of countries involved.

Indigenous nations of the Pacific region have raised alarm over the increased Western military presence in the region. Protecting Oceania, a group of Indigenous Pacific, environmental and social justice organizations issued a statement condemning the drills and opposing the militarization of Pacific islands and waters.

For its part, the Hawaii-based international Cancel RIMPAC campaign stressed that drills don't provide security but rather contribute to neo-colonial push, environmental damage and further violence in the region.

"In Hawaii, Guam, Alaska, and the Northern Mariana Islands, the anti-military and pro-independence voices are the minority since the Native peoples of these places are also now minorities," says Kajiwara.

As the Global South is steadily transitioning to multi-polarity, indigenous Pacific nations are increasingly raising awareness about the threat of war related to the US-NATO attempts to maintain dominance through militarization, according to the pundit.

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A farewell ceremony for the head of the Hamas politburo, Haniyeh, will be held on Thursday in Tehran. He will be buried in Qatar

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EU ‘massively harmed’ its own customers with anti-Russian sanctions – lawyer

It’s safe to say the EU shot itself in the foot by deciding to slap sanctions on Russia, Gunnar Beck, an outgoing member of the European Parliament for the Alternative for Germany party, lawyer and academic specializing in EU law, tells Sputnik.

“There's no doubt that the economic impact [from the sanctions] is felt to a much greater extent here in the EU itself compared to Russia. The Russian economy, according to the official data, is doing very well and it appears to have adapted to the sanctions,” Beck pointed out.

The EU sanctions on Russian raw materials, including oil and gas, “have hurt primarily the European economies,” which “used to be able to rely on predictable, high quality and cheap gas and oil imports from Russia,” according to the expert. These economies, he went on, “still cannot do without importing oil and gas from Russia, but they're now doing it via third countries at much higher prices,” with Russia continuing to sell its oil and gas.

“So the EU has basically harmed itself with these sanctions, or rather to be more precise, the bloc has massively harmed European industry and European consumers. But it [the restrictive measures] don’t appear to have had much impact on the Russian economy,” Beck emphasizes.

The sanctions “have not had the impact that the EU hoped they would have," which was predictable, per the expert.

“The EU probably underestimated the degree to which the Russian government had prepared for the eventuality of sanctions, including far-reaching restrictions on energy imports into the EU as well as financial transactions. On this occasion, I think the sanctions have proved ineffective and they have failed insofar as Russia is concerned,” he concludes.

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Scott Ritter: EU’s anti-Russian sanctions ‘have boomeranged back on Europe’

The EU slapped sanctions on Russia because the US “wanted Russia to be isolated and confronted by Ukraine that was functioning as a de facto proxy of NATO,” former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and ex-UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter tells Sputnik.

All those sanctions, however, have backfired, becoming “one of the greatest economic disasters in modern European history,” Ritter stresses.

“These sanctions, which are designed to punish Russia, have failed to do so. In fact, they've boomeranged back on Europe. And Europe continues to move forward, putting more sanctions into more sanctions, all the while Russia gets stronger economically,” he notes.

As for the US, it is using the sanctions “to achieve a larger strategic objective, not only weakening Russia, but weakening Europe,” as well, so that America “emerges from this conflict stronger,” Ritter adds.

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❗️US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claims that the United States did not know of the assassination prep for the head of the Hamas politburo, Ismail Haniyeh, and denies any involvement.

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❗️Israel does not take responsibility for the elimination of the head of the Hamas politburo, an IDF spokesman told Sputnik.

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WATCH LIVE: Vladimir Putin's talks with Indonesia's President-Elect and current Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto in Moscow

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📹 Must-see: Russian Caspian flotilla in action during large-scale navy drills

Over 20 warships and support vessels are participating in large-scale Russian Navy drills. Mine countermeasure vessels cleared the path from the homeport, while small missile and artillery ships patrolled assigned areas, engaging targets in artillery duels.

The flotilla also repelled air attacks, conducted damage control, and practiced evasive maneuvers.

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🇷🇺🤝🇮🇩Vladimir Putin met with Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto and noted that the two countries have long-standing friendly relations.

"Indonesia considers Russia as a great friend and would like to continue developing relations," President-elect Prabowo Subianto said at a meeting with Putin.

According to the Russian president, trade relations are developing successfully, and trade turnover has doubled in recent years.

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A red "revenge flag" has been raised over the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, Iran after the assassination of Hamas politburo chief, Ismail Haniyeh.

Previously, it was raised after the explosions at the cemetery in Kerman in January, when dozens of people were killed, and before that - after the assassination of Qasem Soleimani in January 2020.

Red flags in the Shiite tradition symbolize unjustly shed blood - and a call to avenge the murdered man.

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