As tensions with Iran threaten to spill over into war, the big question is who has sway over President Donald Trump, his hawkish advisers or a cautious Fox News host, and the answer might make all the difference. [...]

Turkey’s planned deployment of Russian S-400 missile defense systems would be “devastating” for the F-35 program to which Ankara has contributed over $1 billion, the Pentagon has warned. “Completion of this transaction would be devastating, not only to the F-35 program, on which the West has placed its modernized integrated air capability, but it would potentially rupture Turkish interoper [...]

Russia and China took another step away from the US dollar after the two countries agreed to develop bilateral trade using the ruble and the yuan. It was just one of the major deals reached after the presidents of the two countries, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, held talks in Moscow on Wednesday. [...]

At the 75th anniversary this week of the Allied assault on Nazi-occupied France, US President Donald Trump and other NATO leaders issued a “D-Day Proclamation.” In it, they pledged never “to repeat the horror of World War Two.” The US and 15 other nations, including Britain, France, and Canada, also declared their commitment to “resolve international tensions peacefully.” [...]

Iran dismisses Washington's calls to "talk" as a waste of time since Tehran is fighting for true economic autonomy and independence from the Western-led dollar diktat, says Pye Ian, an American economic analyst and private equity executive, explaining why US efforts to confuse and scare the Islamic Republic don't work. [...]

S-400 anti-air missile systems will begin to arrive in Turkey in two months, says the head of Russian state defense corporation Rostec, despite Washington warning Ankara that the deal could threaten their partnership. [...]

As Donald Trump cozies up to the hardline Israeli right-wingers, it seems that support for a sensible Middle East policy is in decline. But a number of the US’ European allies seem to be beginning to break ranks with Washington. [...]

The Russian Armed Forces will soon begin receiving a number of the newest air defence systems, a top Aerospace Forces officer said. Speaking to the official armed forces newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, Aerospace Forces Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Yuri Grekhov disclosed that the development of the S-500, the successor to the S-300 and S-400 air defence systems — has reached its final stage, as [...]

The worsening trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China, could send the global economy into recession within three fiscal quarters, research by investment bank Morgan Stanley has found. [...]

US citizens are weary of endless wars, Virginia State Senator Richard Black believes. He warned President Donald Trump against dragging the country into another one with Iran, and blamed John Bolton for being the top warmonger. [...]

A top-level Indian Air Force (IAF) team visited a Russian facility to check the MiG-29 fighter jets; later, it submitted a favourable report to IAF Headquarters, according to the news portal Print. [...]

The US State Department has begun requiring visa applicants to submit five years’ worth of social media history, threatening “serious immigration consequences” for those who attempt to conceal their accounts. [...]

It’s been a busy few days for American diplomacy, with three dozen nations ending up at the receiving end of threats, ultimatums and sanctions this week alone. And it’s only Friday. [...]

The European Union has denounced Israeli authorities’ plans to expand settlements into occupied East Jerusalem as “an obstacle to peace.” [...]

China has managed to outperform the US and the UK in a German ranking of the world’s most reliable trade partners, compiled from the latest survey of 2,000 German companies by Frankfurt-based Commerzbank. [...]

The Commerce Ministry of China has pledged to create a list of foreign individuals, corporations and institutions that are considered “unreliable” or that violate the interests of Chinese businesses, state media reports. [...]

China’s tariffs targeting $60 billion of American imports have taken effect as part of a tit-for-tat response to Washington’s trade war which saw Beijing slapped with extra levies on $200 billion worth of exports back in May. [...]

Google risks falling under scrutiny again as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) gears up to investigate the IT giant after studying its ads and search policies, new reports say. [...]

Frustrated by a legal ban on sharing intelligence with Israeli operatives conducting targeted assassinations against Hezbollah, the NSA crafted a loophole giving them total access even to US citizens' data, leaked documents show. [...]

Malaysia has accepted the Dutch report that a ‘Russian-made’ missile shot down its civilian airliner MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, but has yet to see evidence it was fired by Russia, said Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. [...]

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu beamed as he showed off a new, Donald Trump-signed US State Department map which redraws Israel’s border to include the Golan Heights – an occupied territory annexed from Syria. [...]

The Pentagon is trying to artificially limit the use of Russian launch vehicles on the international market, Roscosmos said, adding that the ban will negatively affect the whole industry of commercial space launches. [...]