Archive photo: Vladimir Putin and Abbas Araghchi during a meeting in Moscow on 17 April 2025. This image does not show Sergei Lavrov’s October 2026 visit to Tehran. Photo: Presidential Executive Office of Russia, CC BY 4.0. Image source · CC BY 4.0 licence . The treaty signed by Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian in 2025 expanded cooperation between Moscow and Tehran on defence, security, energy, trade and technology. But its 47 articles do not create a military alliance or require either country to go to war to defend the other. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to Tehran on 19 October 2026, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s statement that the two countries have never been closer, renewed debate about the partnership’s reach. The treaty provides for significant military cooperation. That, however, is not the same as a mutual-defence commitment. What is the Russia-Iran treaty? The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty was signed in Moscow on 17 January ...

Archive: South Korean flag over the DMZ at Panmunjom, 2025. This photo does not show a missile launch. Cpl. Joseph Liggio / U.S. Army / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain . Source . Proportional display; no additional crop. North Korea fired ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on October 12, South Korea’s military said. Japan reported detecting at least two and assessed that they landed outside its exclusive economic zone. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported launches from the Pyongyang area, AP said. Reuters separately reported a launch and Japan’s coast guard assessment that a suspected ballistic missile had fallen. AP and Reuters independently reported the launch alerts. The published accounts contain different levels of detail; Japan’s count of at least two is an initial assessment, not a final total. The exact missile types, complete count, flight distances and operational objectives remain unsettled in the accounts reviewed. These reports do not establish a nuc...

FILE PHOTO — The Republic of Korea flag over the DMZ at Panmunjom, Oct. 15, 2025. This archival image does not depict the 2026 mine-clearing operation. U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Joseph Liggio, public domain. Image source and details . South Korea’s defense minister called a mine-clearing operation in the DMZ a decisive response after a September 21 explosion injured three soldiers. North Korea denied responsibility for the mines, while Seoul had not specified what further measures it would take. South Korea’s military cleared mines near the site of a September 21 explosion in the DMZ. The blast injured three South Korean soldiers, two seriously. On October 6, Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul described the clearance operation as a decisive response and said the military would take further necessary steps, without specifying what they would be. Joint investigation and North Korean denial South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said a joint investigation with the U.N. Command concluded that...

Archive: Estonian and U.S. military personnel after an exercise in Erbil, Iraq, May 24, 2025. This photo does not show the September 2026 withdrawal. Sgt. Steve Asfall / U.S. Army / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain . Source . Proportional display; no additional crop. CENTCOM says personnel and equipment left Erbil on September 30, ending Operation Inherent Resolve’s mission in Iraq. The task force continues operating from Jordan; ending the Iraq mission does not end regional counter-ISIS activity. Documentary update — October 14, 2026 (UTC): In its September 30 statement, CENTCOM confirmed the departure of personnel and equipment from Erbil and the end of Operation Inherent Resolve’s mission in Iraq. The task force remains operational from Jordan, with a counter-ISIS mission in Syria. The account below records what was known at original publication. Primary source: CENTCOM/DVIDS . Archive cutoff: The sections below preserve the September 30 account at original publication. Later c...

Archive: B-52H aircraft at RAF Fairford, October 10, 2019. This image does not depict RAF Molesworth, the suspects, or any current security incident. Senior Airman Stuart Bright / U.S. Air Force / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain . Source . Proportional display; no additional crop. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a foreign actor was involved in the RAF Fairford incident. He did not identify the actor or present public evidence, and British police had not confirmed the claim. Rubio made the assertion during a Fox News interview, without explaining its basis. British counterterrorism police have said foreign-state involvement is among the lines of inquiry. They have not publicly attributed the suspected activity to Iran, Russia or another government. This update adds a new U.S. government assertion to the investigation of five men arrested near RAF Fairford. The suspects remain under investigation after being released on bail. Reuters and the Associated Press report that th...