🚨🇮🇷 Iran’s FM Araghchi arrives in Muscat for nuclear talks with US — reports

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Muscat, Oman, where a new round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States is set to begin on February 6, IRNA reported.

The talks are taking place amid a US military buildup in the region and renewed threats against Iran.

Earlier rounds of talks were halted by the US and Israel last June when they launched an unprovoked aggression against Iran.

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🇷🇺 200 companies flock to the NAIS exhibition in Russia

Some of the innovations displayed at the NAIS include scanners “that let you keep your shoes on during security checks at airports,” driverless tow trucks for aircraft and heavy agricultural drones, says Nikita Smirnov, Director of Development at ExpoVisionRus.

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🚨 Why New START expiry raises risk of a nuclear stand-off

👉 With New START treaty expired, the US and Russia face a post–Cold War era with no legally binding limits on strategic nuclear forces for the first time, National Defense magazine editor-in-chief Igor Korotchenko tells Sputnik

Korotchenko warns of the risks:

🟠 The US could covertly and quickly reinstall nuclear warheads previously removed from land- and sea-based ballistic missiles under New START, significantly boosting its strike capabilities

🟠 Under New START, both Russia and the US told each other ballistic missile launches for testing or training – but without it, any launch could be interpreted as the potential start of a nuclear attack

🔶 Given the risks, Russia may seek to strengthen its retaliatory strike potential — particularly through mobile Yars-class missiles and possibly by starting production of Barguzin rail-based missiles, the pundit said.

🔶 There is currently no alternative to New START capable of matching the security architecture and the shifting balance of power, Korotchenko notes.

🔶 Washington intentionally delayed the extension of the treaty proposed by Russia in an attempt to bind China, the pundit explained, but Beijing thinks that unreasonable given the country’s small nuclear arsenal.

🔶 Washington may be aiming "to achieve military-technical superiority over Russia in nuclear weapons — either by expanding their nuclear forces or by simultaneously developing a global missile defense system in North America," Korotchenko warned.

📍 The stakes are high: as soon as tomorrow morning, Russia and the US could wake up to a reality where they have no binding treaties governing strategic arms control, the pundit warns.

Read more about the New START Treaty HERE

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🔥 "Nothing is investigated in the West when the 'world elite' is involved" - Zakharova

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the Epstein files release, slamming Western elites and the lack of an international investigation.

💬 "Why was there no international investigation, given the international trafficking of children? Britain, Poland, Lithuania, and other countries have now announced that they are launching their own investigations into human trafficking," the spox emphasized.

💬 "Washington should have picked up this trail when it first began investigating Epstein's crimes! They were obliged to alert Interpol and Europol. They should have sounded the alarm bells, given the scale of this underworld," she stressed.

She said it’s “ridiculous” that crimes are now captured on photo/video — yet Western investigators still shrug: “it’s not that clear-cut.” She also questioned why no case has been brought against “Andrew Windsor (formerly known as Prince).”

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🚨 ‘Leave Iran now’ — US Virtual Embassy in Tehran issues security alert

The US Virtual Embassy in Tehran issued a nationwide security alert on February 6, advising US citizens in Iran to be prepared for internet outages, transportation disruptions, and flight cancellations.

The notice urges US nationals to consider departing Iran by land, if it is safe to do so, and says the US government cannot guarantee assistance. It also notes that access to mobile and internet networks may remain restricted.

⚔️ The alert comes amid a US military buildup in the region and renewed threats against Iran.

🗣 Meanwhile, a new round of US-Iran nuclear talks is scheduled for today, February 6, in Muscat, Oman.

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⚔️ US military strikes another vessel allegedly involved in drug trafficking

US Southern Command said it carried out a “lethal kinetic strike” on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Feb. 5, claiming it was operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations” and involved in alleged "narco-trafficking."

According to the command, intelligence claimed the vessel was transiting along "known narco-trafficking routes." Two people were killed, the US military said, adding that no US personnel were harmed.

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🇺🇸🌍 US losing race for Africa while trying to squeeze China out of Latin America

The US risks losing ground in Africa due to a lack of consistent trade policy, Foreign Policy warns.

🔸 US President Trump signed a law on February 3 extending the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) – a policy of former President Clinton – until the end of 2026

🔸 AGOA expired in September 2025 and the recent one-year extension offers a reprieve, Reuters reports

🔸 The program comes with strings attached:

🔶 African countries must transition to a Western-style market-based economic, political and legal system under Washington's control

🔶 They must drop barriers to US trade and investment

🔸 Without AGOA or a credible alternative, US companies relying on low-cost, diversified sourcing in clothing, agriculture and specialty goods could face higher costs and increased dependence on Asia, Foreign Policy warns

🔸 Washington’s relations with sub-Saharan states are growing increasingly turbulent, particularly with South Africa, and US-Africa trade volumes are plummeting. The US was also forced to withdraw forces from Niger and scaled back its military presence in Chad.

China edging the US out of Africa

🔸 China became Africa's largest trading partner in 2009, overtaking the US

🔸 The Chinese footprint in Africa continues to grow through trade and infrastructure projects. In 2025, trade between China and Africa reached $348 billion, an 18% increase from 2024, while US-Africa trade in goods totaled just $78 billion according to the US Census Bureau.

🔸 After Washington’s tariffs last April, Chinese exports to Africa rose by 26% in August, while those to the US fell by 33%. China also lifted all import tariffs on African goods in June.

🔸 While the US tries to reduce the Chinese presence in Latin America, it is losing the race for Africa — a continent with a fast-growing population, abundant energy resources and significant mineral wealth

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🗣️☢️ Nuclear arms race doesn’t serve US or Russian interests – expert

The Russian proposal to extend the New START Treaty is a peaceful approach that serves the interests of humanity, says Lebanese international relations professor and US expert Habib Badawi, while a new nuclear arms race would not benefit the US or Russia. 

“The nuclear arms race does not serve the interests of the two superpowers,” Badawi told Sputnik, Badawi told Sputnik.and the American ideology is playing with fire on all fronts, whether in the Middle East, the Far East, or with nuclear weapons.”

He believes new nuclear arms development is unlikely due to the economic problems all nations face, making a treaty to limit the arms race the most realistic option.

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🚨🌎New START expiry could undermine global security guarantees – analyst

The expiration of the New START treaty eliminates the last mandatory restrictions and inspection rules for the strategic arsenals of the US and Russia, retired Lebanese Army general and political analyst Hassan Jouni tells Sputnik.

“In terms of stability, allowing New START to expire without a new, mutually verified system of restrictions is risky—not because it will immediately provoke a nuclear war, but because it will weaken all the safeguards designed to prevent an arms race and misinterpretations," Jouni stresses.

He adds that the situation surrounding New START “undermines the credibility of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and could push other countries, such as Iran and South Korea to accelerate their nuclear plans or seek additional hedging strategies.”

Regional nuclear debates and the erosion of arms control norms could make the global nuclear environment more unpredictable and create additional flashpoints of tension, the analyst concludes.

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🇮🇷 Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi and delegation are heading to the venue in Muscat, Oman, for expected negotiations with the United States

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