Katz says IDF will remain in Syria buffer zone, warns Turkey over military presence

Katz says IDF will remain in Syria buffer zone, warns Turkey over military presence

Vered Weiss,

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that the IDF will remain on Mount Hermon and in the security zone in Syria as long as jihadist threats persist, while also warning against Turkish actions that Israel considers a threat to its security.

“We will not move from Mount Hermon and the security zone as long as there are jihadist threats to the State of Israel,” Katz said during a visit to Mount Hermon.

Katz directed a message to the Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, saying the Israeli military’s presence overlooking Damascus demonstrated Israel’s determination to defend its border communities.

“The message to the president of Syria is clear — when you wake up in the morning in the palace in Damascus and look up at Mount Hermon and see the IDF, you know that we are here to defend our communities and our border,” he said.

Katz also addressed Israeli concerns about Turkey’s activities in Syria, referring to last week’s strike on a Syrian airbase.

Israel “acted against a Turkish attempt to establish itself in Syria, while putting Israel’s security interests at risk,” he said. “We made this clear and will stand by it in the future as well.”

Katz said Israeli forces positioned on Mount Hermon could observe Damascus, 35 kilometers away, as well as Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and Hezbollah’s stronghold, while protecting communities in the Golan Heights and Galilee.

Syria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned Katz’s visit Tuesday as “illegal,” accusing Israel of violating international law.

“The Foreign Affairs Ministry stresses that these hostile practices constitute a blatant provocation and a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, as well as a breach of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, which requires respect for the ceasefire lines and not crossing them,” the ministry said.

CIA Director Held Covert Moscow Talks With Russian Intel Chiefs As Relations Sink Deeper Into "Crisis"

CIA Director Held Covert Moscow Talks With Russian Intel Chiefs As Relations Sink Deeper Into "Crisis"

TYLER DURDEN

Summary: 

• CIA Director Ratcliffe Met With Senior Russian intelligence officials, Not Putin
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov Says Meeting Focused On Repairing Bilateral US-Russia Relations In "Deep Crisis" 
• CIA Director Ratcliffe On USAF Cargo Jet Flight To Moscow
• US Air Force C-17 Makes Mysterious Visit To Moscow 

New Details On Ratcliffe's Trip To Moscow 

CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on a US Air Force C-17 transport jet on Tuesday morning for meetings with Russian intelligence officials, according to CBS News.

The outlet cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who confirmed Wednesday that Ratcliffe met with senior Russian intelligence officials but not President Vladimir Putin.

Putin was later briefed on the talks, according to Peskov, who cautioned that it was too early to determine whether the meeting could help pull bilateral US-Russian relations out of their "deep crisis."

The visit marks Ratcliffe's first known trip to Russia since becoming CIA director, though he has maintained contact with Russian intelligence counterparts, CBS noted.

CBS continued:

Ahead of his trip, the US told Ukrainian officials that a senior delegation would be traveling to Moscow and asked Kyiv to suspend strikes until the delegation's departure from Russia, according to a senior Ukrainian official.

The secretive trip comes as US-mediated peace talks remain stalled and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure have stoked a refined-products crisis that is spreading worldwide in the form of diesel shortages. We must note the energy crisis has been compounded by tanker transit disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. 

CBS News Senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs has provided some clarity on the mysterious US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft that flew to Moscow earlier today.

Jacobs said, "Scoop: CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Russia aboard a C-17 for meetings in Moscow today, sources told @Olivia_Gazis @JimLaPorta and me. @CBSNews." 

More...

China threatens White House with retaliation over sanctions

China threatens White House with retaliation over sanctions

ETH

Beijing has issued a stark warning of retaliation after the United States unveiled aggressive new sanctions aimed at isolating Iran, heightening concerns of a renewed economic confrontation between the world’s two largest powers.

According to a report from The Telegraph, China’s foreign ministry declared that its relationship with Tehran must remain untouched as Washington moves to cut the Islamic Republic off from its remaining economic partners.

Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian delivered the rebuke on Tuesday, just hours after the White House signaled it would punish nations that continue dealing with Iran. “China’s ties with Iran should not be interfered with or undermined,” Lin stated. He added that Beijing “is closely monitoring relevant developments and will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its own rights and interests.”

The Chinese response followed the launch of “Operation Economic Outcast” by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday. The campaign seeks to completely sever Iran from the global economy and financial system, including through secondary sanctions that could strike countries still trading with, investing in, or lending to the Iranian government. “Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent declared.

China ranks among Iran’s most important commercial partners. A network of smaller Chinese refineries, known as “teapots,” purchased roughly 80 percent of Iran’s seaborne crude oil exports last year.

The two nations maintain what they describe as a comprehensive strategic partnership, with bilateral trade reaching about $40 billion in the previous year. Although oil shipments have declined following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran continues to obtain Chinese machinery and technology and may still use Chinese financial channels to navigate around existing Western restrictions.

Bessent made clear that Beijing could fall within the scope of the new measures. “No one is above the reach of US sanctions,” he said. “If they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted.”

The warning arrives at a delicate moment in U.S.-China relations. President Donald Trump spent much of the year easing tensions after Beijing restricted American access to critical rare earth materials and magnets.

He traveled to Beijing in May in an effort to repair ties, and Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Washington next month. Until this week, both sides had largely avoided fresh friction.

Yet pressure is building. Bloomberg reported that Trump is weighing a new 7.5 percent tariff on Chinese goods produced in excess capacity.

On Monday, the U.S. Treasury also designated several Hong Kong-based trading and shipping firms under the Iran sanctions, alleging some helped procure sensitive technology for Tehran. Major Chinese banks, which have long provided Iran with pathways around Western financial restrictions, have so far been spared.

Lin urged a return to dialogue rather than confrontation. He warned that sanctions would “escalate tensions, create spillover risks, and disrupt the global economic and financial order.” Beijing has already prepared tools to push back, granting enforcement agencies expanded authority to penalize companies that comply with foreign sanctions viewed as harmful to Chinese interests.

CIA Director Makes Rare Moscow Visit Amid Ukraine War and Iran Tensions

CIA Director Makes Rare Moscow Visit Amid Ukraine War and Iran Tensions

Emmitt Barry

 CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow on Tuesday for meetings with Russian officials, according to U.S. media reports, marking one of the most sensitive known contacts between Washington and Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

CBS News and Axios first reported Ratcliffe’s visit, while DW and Reuters said the talks came after flight-tracking data showed a U.S. military transport plane arriving at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport from Latvia before departing hours later. Neither the CIA nor the Kremlin offered details on the purpose of the trip, and Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no information about the aircraft’s arrival.

The visit appears to be the first known trip by a CIA director to Russia since William Burns met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in November 2021, just months before Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.

The timing is striking. U.S.-brokered efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war have slowed, while both Russia and Ukraine have intensified attacks beyond traditional battlefield targets. At the same time, Washington is increasing pressure on Iran, a close Russian partner, warning countries to cut business ties with Tehran or risk secondary sanctions.

Reuters reported that Russia and Iran maintain deep military, economic, and diplomatic ties, including Tehran’s supply of drones for Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have also accused Moscow of helping Iran with drone technology and intelligence support, allegations Russia denies.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Ratcliffe’s trip came as Washington is watching Russia’s military posture in Ukraine and broader attempts to test NATO’s resolve. The official reason for the Moscow visit has not been disclosed, but the rare intelligence-channel contact suggests Washington and Moscow may be using backdoor diplomacy at a dangerous moment on multiple fronts.

For now, the public record is limited: the CIA chief went to Moscow, the meetings were undisclosed, and both capitals are saying little. But in a season of war, sanctions, and shifting alliances, silence itself may speak loudly.

Functional Unemployment in USA Reaches New High

Functional Unemployment in USA Reaches New High

Martin Armstrong

The government claims unemployment stands at 4.1%, yet a new analysis cited by CBS News found that 24.9% of American workers were functionally unemployed in July. Functional unemployment includes those who cannot find employment, people forced into part-time work because full-time jobs are unavailable, and workers earning less than $26,000 annually before taxes. Washington can call these people employed, but try paying rent, food, insurance, utilities, transportation, and medical expenses on barely $2,000 per month before the government takes its share.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is not measuring whether people are prospering or even surviving. If you worked as little as one hour during the survey period, you can be classified as “employed.” If you have searched for months, become discouraged, and finally stop looking, the government simply removes you from the labor force. You did not find a job and your circumstances did not improve, but you cease to exist statistically. Politicians then point to the lower unemployment rate and claim their policies are working.

Functional unemployment has now risen for four consecutive months while workforce participation has moved lower. Employers reportedly eliminated 23,000 jobs in July, consumer prices rose 3.4% year over year, and wages increased only 3.2%. Therefore, the average worker lost purchasing power even after receiving a nominal raise. This is why people become angry when politicians lecture them about a strong economy. The statistics say they are employed, inflation is under control, and everything is wonderful, yet the paycheck no longer covers the monthly bills.

This is how the political establishment disguises economic decline. Inflation statistics do not reflect the actual cost of maintaining a household, GDP rises when government borrows and spends money it does not have, and unemployment declines when people surrender and stop searching for work. Every major statistic has been constructed to make government appear competent while the standard of living steadily deteriorates. They measure whether money changed hands, not whether society became wealthier.

Americans have been forced to replace income with debt. They have depleted savings, increased credit-card balances, postponed major purchases, and begun cutting necessities because discretionary spending was already eliminated. Consumer spending may represent roughly two-thirds of the economy, but consumers cannot continue spending indefinitely when prices rise faster than wages and employment becomes increasingly unstable. Credit can postpone the reckoning, but it cannot replace real economic growth.

Functional unemployment explains why Washington can proclaim prosperity while millions of Americans feel trapped in a personal recession. The economy has produced millions of positions that satisfy the government’s definition of employment but cannot provide an independent life. The political class counts the number of people receiving paychecks while refusing to ask what those paychecks can actually buy. That is poverty disguised by statistics.