Russian missile maker Vympel scheduled 90 LMUR helicopter missile launchers for Iran between late 2024 and December 2025, according to documents shared with the Guardian. The papers do not show whether the launchers were delivered.
Russia arranged to supply Iran with 90 launchers for advanced guided missiles, the Guardian reported on Thursday, citing leaked defence industry documents. Dallas Analytics, a Ukrainian private intelligence firm, obtained the files and shared them with the newspaper. The launchers are for the LMUR, a guided missile fired from attack helicopters. Russian forces have used it heavily against Ukrainian targets since the full-scale invasion in 2022. Vympel, a leading Russian designer of missiles and launch systems, drew up a production schedule in May 2024. It lists an order for 90 launchers under an export contract called "K-10". Deliveries were planned between late 2024 and December 2025. Separate internal paperwork explicitly identifies K-10 as Iran. The records do not prove the launchers reached Iran. However, another schedule in the files lists six Yak-130 jet trainers for Iran in 2023. According to the Guardian, that matches publicly reported deliveries of the aircraft. The May 2024 letter also reveals strain in Russia's arms industry. Vympel warned that late deliveries of key components threatened launcher assembly and Russian state defence contracts. The leak comes as Washington weighs its next steps in its war against Iran after the US midterm elections. President Donald Trump has repeatedly played down Moscow's support for Tehran.…
The Bank of England raised its base rate from 3.75% to 4% on Thursday, its first increase in more than three years. Governor Andrew Bailey said another rise is likely unless the conflict in the Middle East is resolved.
The Bank of England raised interest rates on Thursday for the first time since August 2023. The base rate rose by a quarter point, from 3.75% to 4%. The Bank said the move aims to curb inflation driven mainly by the Iran war's impact on oil prices, the BBC reported. According to the Guardian, the conflict has kept oil prices above $100 a barrel for months. Hopes of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have faded. The Bank now expects UK inflation to peak at 4.9% in mid-2027, up from 3.2% in its July forecast. Inflation reached 3.5% in September. The BBC reported that inflation could hit 6.2% in 2027 in an "adverse scenario" in which the war escalates. The Bank does not expect inflation to return to its 2% target until 2028. Eight of the nine members of the monetary policy committee voted for the quarter-point rise. The ninth, Catherine Mann, wanted a half-point increase to 4.25%. The minutes reveal splits over what comes next. Alan Taylor called the move a "one-for-now" insurance hike. Megan Greene said more hikes might follow, depending on wages, prices…
Seoul will ask parliament to extend its Cheonghae unit's patrol area to waters near Oman's port of Duqm, about 650km from the strait. The plan follows criticism from Donald Trump over South Korea's support for his war in Iran.
South Korea plans to move its anti-piracy naval unit closer to the Strait of Hormuz, The Guardian reported, citing the defence ministry. The government will ask parliament to widen the Cheonghae unit's area of operation. Under the plan, the unit would operate in waters near the port of Duqm in Oman. According to…
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned anyone who keeps supporting Iran's government, BBC Swahili reported. The warning followed new US sanctions on a large criminal network accused of aiding Iran's secret oil tanker trade.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned those who continue to support the Iranian government, BBC Swahili reported. The warning came after Washington announced new sanctions on what it called a large criminal network. The US says the network helps run Iran's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers, which trade in secret. Bessent said the sanctions are part of an economic operation…
Indian commandos airdropped from a C-17 boarded the fishing vessel Azini on Monday and freed the crew with no casualties, India's Defence Ministry said. Pirates seized the boat off Somalia's northeastern coast on October 29.
US forces hit Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz late on Monday in what officials called a defensive strike. It came hours after Vice President JD Vance said he and Trump felt good about the chances of a deal with Iran.
Brent crude fell more than 6.5% on Monday to as low as $105.55 a barrel, The Guardian reported. It was the lowest level since October 16, as hopes grew for a US-Iran breakthrough.
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei told military commanders to be ready for an immediate response if Iran is attacked again. Qatari mediators are holding talks to prevent a new round of the US-Iran war.
Iran's army said on Sunday that any renewed war with the US could last longer than the last round of fighting. The warning came after Trump said US forces could hit one or two remaining sites in Iran "in 10 minutes".
The Qatari gas carrier Al Mayeda was hit by "unidentified objects" in the Gulf on Friday evening, its owner said on Sunday. No crew members were hurt, and Doha has condemned the attack.
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