Bardella: Buy Rafales or Lose France's Nuclear Umbrella

🛡️ PARIS — France's nuclear umbrella is now a sales instrument for Rafale jets. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Bardella has no power today, but RN leads French polls — this is tomorrow's policy auditioned today. Tying nuclear cover to procurement forces European allies to choose between US industrial dependency and French deterrence. With US commitments questioned during the Gulf crisis, the pitch lands in fertile ground. Italy and Poland are the direct audience.

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US Military Helicopter Fires Missile at Cargo Ship Running Iran Blockade

🚁 HORMUZ — US helicopter missile hit proves the blockade has teeth. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: The M/V Vela Nova strike is the first confirmed kinetic enforcement of the blockade on a non-Iranian civilian vessel. Every third-flag carrier now recalculates exposure. Tehran gains a propaganda weapon: Washington fired on a merchant

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Israeli Media Warns Turkey Filling Iran's Vacuum on Collision Course With Israel

🇹🇷 ANKARA — Israel's next threat may be the ally inside NATO, not the enemy outside it. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: With Iran's regional arc contracting, Turkey is absorbing influence in Syria and deepening hostility toward Israel. Erdoğan is also inside the Mecca Pact — binding Ankara to Riyadh and Islamabad.

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Qatar FM Welcomes Cooperation Agreements for Middle East Stability

🇶🇦 DOHA — Qatar signals openness just as every off-ramp looks closed. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Qatar's FM statement is studied vagueness — "cooperation agreements" without naming parties or frameworks. Doha hosts Hamas, runs the Iran backchannel, and mediates Gaza simultaneously. Signaling welcome for stability deals now suggests Qatar sees

newsupdates

Iran Plans to Restore 95M Cubic Metres of Gas Output by End September

⛽ TEHRAN — Iran restoring gas while Hormuz stays closed is a contradictory signal. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Restoring 95M m³ signals Tehran expects to be selling gas — which requires open transit routes. Either this is pressure on Europe to push for sanctions relief, or Pezeshkian's camp is quietly pricing in a

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US Military Helicopter Fires Missile at Cargo Ship Running Iran Blockade

Israeli Media Warns Turkey Filling Iran's Vacuum on Collision Course With Israel

Qatar FM Welcomes Cooperation Agreements for Middle East Stability

Iran Plans to Restore 95M Cubic Metres of Gas Output by End September