Europe pushes global military spending to record high

Europe pushes global military spending to record high

RT

European military spending helped to propel global defense expenditure to a record high of almost $3 trillion in 2025 despite the US decreasing its outlay, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released on Monday.

Worldwide military expenditure rose 2.9% in real terms last year to reach $2.887 trillion, marking the 11th consecutive annual increase and lifting the global military burden to 2.5% of GDP, the report said. SIRPI experts explained the trend by citing several ongoing conflicts and persisting geopolitical tensions.

The entire European continent accounted for the largest regional increase, with spending rising 14% to $864 billion. SIPRI linked the surge to the Ukraine conflict, a standoff with Russia, and “the ongoing pursuit of European self-reliance alongside increasing pressure from the United States to strengthen burden sharing within the alliance.”

In total, European NATO members spent a combined $559 billion in 2025, with Germany’s outlays rising 24% to $114 billion and Spain’s jumping 50% to $40.2 billion.

US military expenditure fell 7.5% to $954 billion, with SIPRI linking a surprise decline to the Trump administration’s refusal to approve new assistance packages to Ukraine, in contrast to previous years when $127 billion in direct military support had been authorized.

The US, however, has continued deliveries via the NATO-coordinated PURL program, with other Western countries footing the bill.

Last week, Pentagon officials also said that US President Donald Trump was advocating a military budget of $1.5 trillion to provide funds for the new Golden Dome missile system, AI capabilities, and a new class of battleships.

SIPRI noted Russia’s defense expenditure grew 5.9% to $190 billion, while Ukraine increased spending by 20% to $84.1 billion, equivalent to 40% of GDP, becoming the seventh-largest military spender in the world.

Elsewhere, China increased military spending by 7.4% to $336 billion, while Japan’s expenditure rose 9.7% to $62.2 billion, and Taiwan’s by 14% to $18.2 billion.

Moscow has repeatedly condemned what it described as reckless militarization by the EU, adding that it is aimed at Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also suggested that European propaganda seeks to turn Russia into a “model external enemy” to divert attention from internal crises.

Terry James: Sudden Destruction

Sudden Destruction

Terry James

For years I’ve had Jesus’ prophecy of Luke 17:28–30 at the center of the message I believe our Lord wants delivered at this late hour of the Church Age:

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. (Luke 17:28–30)

Well, that message hasn’t changed. It still resonates as the one prophecy I believe is most directly meant for this sin-darkening planet that’s on the cusp of receiving God’s wrath because of humankind’s rebellion against Him.

Jesus said when He next intervenes into the evil affairs of earth’s inhabitants, the “righteous” will be removed. In the “days of Lot” in Jesus’ prophecy, it was Lot and his family who were removed because Lot was considered the only one in Sodom who was righteous. In the case of Christ’s next intervention, He indicated that another righteous entity will be removed to safety. This, of course, will be all who believe in Jesus for salvation–collectively called the Church.

I always preface what I say about that moment of Rapture with Jesus’ statement that, at the time, people of earth will, as in Sodom of Lot’s day, be buying, selling, planting, building, and marrying—in other words, going about business as usual.

Even with all the evil going on now–and it’s probably worse than it was in ancient Sodom and Gomorrah—it is still business as usual, as I view it. Despite the evil–the wars and rumors of war, the deception, the ethnic upheaval all over the planet—there isn’t yet catastrophic disruption of life on earth.

So, in this sense, our time is exactly like Jesus predicted in Luke 17:28–30.

As we know, the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. And the destruction apparently came immediately following Lot’s removal. The cities were decimated; for millennia, scientists and archaeologists thought the Bible’s account of the destruction to be myth. But in most previous decades, there is evidence that indeed these cities were destroyed, and even sulfur residue of the region at the south end of the Dead Sea proves that something devastatingly powerful blasted the area. Pottery shards and other evidence that humans once inhabited the region are still being extracted from beneath the earth’s surface there.

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The Fertilizer Shock of 2026-2027: A Man-Made Famine in the Making

The Fertilizer Shock of 2026-2027: A Man-Made Famine in the Making

Mike Adams

We are watching a catastrophe unfold that was entirely predictable. The current fertilizer crisis is not a natural disaster -- it is the direct result of globalist policies, financialization, and a just-in-time supply chain that prioritizes profit over food security. The triple shock -- the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, China’s export ban, and Russia’s quota system -- has already doubled urea prices in many markets, but the real story is how vulnerable countries have been left exposed by a system that values corporate margins over human lives. In my view, the mainstream media and international institutions are downplaying the severity because they have no solution that doesn’t challenge their own power structures.

The historical record shows that manmade famines are not accidents but engineered outcomes. As William Maxwell McCord wrote, “Manmade famines in Asia and Africa, the worldwide debt crisis, political tyranny and corruption…” . We are now repeating that pattern on a global scale. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned back in 2022 that high fertilizer prices could cause global grain production to plummet by 40 percent . That warning was ignored, and now we are living the consequences. The crisis is not a surprise; it is a choice made by those who run the system.

The direct loss of Gulf fertilizers is only the tip of the iceberg. The second-order effects are crippling domestic production in nations like Bangladesh and Egypt, where natural gas -- the primary feedstock for nitrogen fertilizer -- is now prohibitively expensive due to the destruction of Qatar’s LNG trains. As I reported in a recent analysis, “the recent confirmation that retaliatory strikes have destroyed two of Qatar’s fourteen critical LNG ‘trains’ is not a distant geopolitical blip. It is a world-altering event” . Without affordable gas, ammonia plants shut down, and with them the supply of urea and ammonium nitrate.

Meanwhile, Russia’s decision to halt ammonium nitrate exports from March 21 to April 21 has tightened global supplies even further . China’s export restrictions, while rational for their own farmers, reveal the hollow promise of global trade interdependence: every nation looks out for itself when crisis hits. And the sulfur crisis is another hidden dagger: the destruction of Gulf refineries has cut off critical sulfur supplies for phosphate production. As I detailed in a previous report, “zero spot sulfur is available on the global market” . Even major producers like Morocco and Russia cannot escape this bottleneck. The cascading failures are not random -- they are the logical outcome of a system built on fragile, centralized infrastructure.

The Human Toll: Tier 1 and Tier 2 Countries on the Edge of Famine

The numbers are staggering: approximately one-fourth of all globally traded nitrogen fertilizer normally travels through the Strait of Hormuz . That artery is now effectively closed. The UN has warned that this disruption threatens one-third of the global fertilizer trade at a critical moment for spring planting, and could trigger a broader food crisis unless shipments resume quickly . But no one is listening.

Sudan is the most exposed -- more than half its fertilizer comes from the Gulf, the country is in the grip of a civil war, and its planting season runs from June to July. This is a recipe for mass starvation, and it is being treated as a secondary concern. Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka each face their own ticking clock: fertilizer that doesn’t arrive by May is fertilizer that won’t be applied. 

The ripple effects will hit the lean season of 2027. Even countries like India and Brazil have some buffers through stockpiles or later planting windows, but that only masks the systemic fragility. The poorest smallholders in Bihar or the Sahel have no such safety net. As one study notes, “below certain income levels it may simply not be possible to obtain an adequate diet” . These are the people who will die first.

Where Political Instability Will Concentrate

The political fallout is just as predictable as the food shortages. Countries where food already consumes over 50 percent of household income -- Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh -- are defenseless against a 25 to 30 percent price spike. History shows that food riots topple governments. The link between food prices and political stability is well documented: “another indirect indication of food problems in specific areas is the price of food in relation to income levels, that is, the ability to purchase food” . When that ability evaporates, the social contract breaks.

Egypt’s bread price history is a flashing red light. The Sisi government’s price caps may delay the explosion, but the IMF program ensures the pressure will build. Sri Lanka’s 2022 collapse was triggered by a fertilizer ban; the political memory is fresh, and this crisis could reignite unrest far more rapidly than officials admit. As the fertilizer bottleneck at Hormuz raises the risk of food inflation and worsening global hunger, we are sitting on a powder keg . The only question is where the first spark will ignite.

Iran FM blames US for failure of talks as he meets Putin

Iran FM blames US for failure of talks as he meets Putin

AFP

Iran's top diplomat blamed Washington Monday for the failure of Middle East peace talks during a visit to Russia, where President Vladimir Putin promised him Moscow's support in ending the war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Saint Petersburg on a whirlwind diplomatic tour, having sandwiched a trip to Oman in between two visits to Pakistan, the main mediator in the Mideast war.

Islamabad hosted a first, unsuccessful round of US-Iran talks, and Araghchi's visit raised hopes for more negotiations over the weekend -- until US President Donald Trump scrapped a planned trip by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

"The US approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite progress, to fail to reach its goals because of the excessive demands," Araghchi said Monday.

Trump told Fox News if Iran wanted talks, "they can call us" -- adding the cancellation does not signal a return to hostilities.

Iran's envoy to the UN said Tehran would first need guarantees Washington and Israel would not attack again if it was to offer security assurances in the Gulf.

"Lasting stability and security in the Persian Gulf and the wider region can only be achieved through a durable and permanent cessation of aggression against Iran, supplemented by credible guarantees of non-recurrence," Amir Saeid Iravani told a UN Security Council session.

Meanwhile in Saint Petersburg, Putin and Araghchi both voiced their commitment to their countries' "strategic relationship" following their meeting.

Araghchi said the war with the United States and Israel showed "Iran's true power" and stability.

But back home in Tehran, the mood was more sober.

"Everything in the country is up in the air right now. I have not worked for a long time," small business owner Farshad told Paris-based AFP journalists.

"The country is in complete economic collapse."

Highlighting back-channel diplomacy, the Fars news agency said Iran passed "written messages" to Washington via Pakistan spelling out its red lines in negotiations -- including nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump met with his top security advisers Monday to discuss an Iranian proposal that would reportedly reopen the vital strait as broader negotiations over the war continue, the White House said.

When asked about the reported plan, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told a White House briefing the proposal was "being discussed".

Though the US-Iranian ceasefire holds, the war's economic shock waves continue to reverberate.

Tehran resident Shervin, a photographer, said he was feeling the pinch.

"It is the first time that I have reached a point where I was late on my rent. I still don't have any projects," said Shervin, 42.

Iran has blockaded Hormuz, cutting off flows of oil, gas and fertiliser and sending prices soaring.

In response, the United States has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they have no intention of easing their market-rattling chokehold of the strategic waterway.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran's parliament, said a proposed law for managing the strait would make the Islamic republic's armed forces the overseeing authority, with levies to be paid in Iranian rial.

The head of the UN's maritime agency, Arsenio Dominguez, said there was "no legal basis" for imposing transit fees.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also rejected the idea.

"They cannot normalise -- nor can we tolerate them trying to normalise -- a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway, and how much you have to pay them to use it," he told Fox News Channel's "America's Newsroom".

Rubio Insists US 'Will Not Tolerate' Deal Which Makes Iran Gatekeeper Over Hormuz

Rubio Insists US 'Will Not Tolerate' Deal Which Makes Iran Gatekeeper Over Hormuz

 TYLER DURDEN

Summary

• Putin tells FM Araghchi that he's been in contact with the new Supreme Leader, and says Iran fighting for 'sovereignty'

• After a weekend of stalemate malaise, Iran reportedly offers new proposal for opening ship traffic, while postponing the thorny nuclear issue; Rubio says 'will not tolerate' Iran control of strait

• Trump says peace could come via telephone rather than face-to-face meetings, also warning Iranian oil infrastructure could explode from within unless flow resumes; Tehran later says Trump has requested new talks

• Iranian FM has been sending written messages to US via Pakistani intermediaries 

• Israel strikes deep into Lebanon in Beqaa Valley for first time of 3-week ceasefire.

  
  

  
  

  The latest via WSJ on what Iran is proposing, centered on immediately lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports:

  Iran has presented regional mediators with a new offer to stop its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a full end to the war and a lifting of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, according to officials familiar with the matter. The proposal, presented by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during his tour of the region and Pakistan over the weekend, is designed to break the deadlock in the conflict and set talks back in motion, the people said. It would see discussions about Iran’s nuclear program shelved. Washington hasn't responded to the proposal, one of the people said. Iran’s mission to the United Nations didn’t respond to a request for comment.

  But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told Fox News on Monday that the US will not tolerate Iran controlling or establishing a toll system in the Strait of Hormuz. Rubio further asserted that the strait would remain open either through international pressure or a coalition-led effort.

  Iranian Foreign Minister told Russia’s President Putin that US ‘destructive habits’, ‘unreasonable demands’ and frequent changes in positions are slowing diplomatic progress

  Just days ago Iran began declaring that the first toll passage funds had been successfully transferred to the Central Bank of Iran, after Trump stated the US won't allow a toll system. Rubio further said the US will not normalize the Iranians being essentially a gatekeeper, with countries seeking permission from Iran.

  
  

  Putin Says He's in Contact with Ayatollah in Araghchi Moscow Meeting

  President Putin, FM Lavrov, and Iranian FM Araghchi have been meeting in Moscow, after warm greetings and amid competing narratives over the future of the Strait of Hormuz. The Russian leader said something surprising right out of the gate, at a moment Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen since the US-Israeli war began: "Last week I received a message from the Supreme Leader of Iran," he told Iran's Araghchi

  Additionally Putin pledged, "The people of Iran are courageously and heroically fighting for their sovereignty." This certainly stands in sharp contrast from the US and Western consensus. Putin also stressed, "Russia will do everything that serves the interests of Iran and the region to achieve peace as soon as possible." 

  This after Tehran on Monday made clear that it sees the future of the Strait of Hormuz as being under Iranian military control - an earlier headline which pushed crude prices up, and within hours later on this as well:

  
  

  Hours prior, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described of Araghchi's arrival, "the importance of this conversation is difficult to overestimate in terms of how the situation around Iran and in the Middle East is developing." Araghchi to Putin: "It’s been proven to everybody that Tehran has friends and allies such as Russia... Allies that, in times of need, are standing next to Iran - and we are grateful to you for your support."

  
  

  The moment Putin greeted the Iranian top diplomat and his team (below), and where things stand on Iran's proposal...

  Iran has reportedly sent a new proposal to the U.S. that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but only after an end to the war and guarantees it will not resume, according to sources and regional reports. Under the plan, broader talks on the nuclear program and maritime navigation would come later.

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