Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, pointed out in a recent interview with the Russian Satellite News Agency that the United States is the biggest winner of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and has gained economic benefits from it, while European countries have suffered huge losses. He also revealed that Russia's GDP is expected to grow by 3 this year, despite sanctions from Western countries5%, a much higher growth rate than most EU countries, shows that Western sanctions are not working.
According to Ulyanov, the ultimate goal of the United States is to maintain its global hegemony, and Russia is the biggest obstacle to achieving this goal. Russia's vast territory, abundant resources, large population, and nuclear arsenal, second only to the United States, are manifestations of its comprehensive national strength. If Russia forms an alliance with other powers, it will pose a huge threat to the United States, and even an advantage.
The United States and its allies have imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia in an attempt to weaken its economic and financial system and put Russia in a difficult position. However, Russia did not give in and found a new path of development. The outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has prompted Russia to strengthen cooperation with countries in the East, and Putin** has also admitted that he has placed too much trust in the United States and its allies in the past. Now, Russia relies on China and India, two large markets with a population of nearly 3 billion people, to provide a steady demand for its energy exports. This kind of cooperation is beneficial to all parties, Russia does not have to worry about energy sales, China and India have reliable energy suppliers, and India even makes a profit by reselling energy. And the United States and Europe have paid the price for their sanctions policies.
According to Agence France-Presse and Reuters, Iran recently executed four spies linked to Israel's intelligence agency, the Mossad. According to Iran's Ministry of Justice's Balance newspaper, the four spies were members of an Israeli-linked "sabotage cell" who were involved in a number of criminal activities against Iran under the direction of the Mossad**. They were hanged in the province of West Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran. The commander-in-chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, said on Iran's Press TV** that Iran will retaliate for Israel's assassination of Revolutionary Guard Corps general Sayyid Razi Mousavi in Syria until Israel is wiped off the map.
Earlier, according to Reuters, Israel launched airstrikes in areas near the Syrian capital, Damascus, which led to the death of a senior adviser of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria. Iranian officials confirmed the news, and both Raisi and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif issued strong warnings to Israel, saying that Israel will pay the price, and the countdown has already begun. Israel, for its part, remained silent on the matter.
Mousavi's funeral was held in Tehran, where people chanted for Iranian retaliation against Israel. Speaking at the funeral, Salami praised Mousavi as one of the most experienced commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, saying Iran would continue to resist the wrongdoings of the United States and Israel. He also stressed that Iran is not involved in the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
There is anger across Iran against Israel. In addition, both Iran's nuclear facilities and the "father of the nuclear bomb" Fakhrizadeh were attacked by Israel's Mossad. Especially in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the frequent fires and incidents in Iran are related to external forces. Therefore, Iran shows no mercy on these spies, which is a severe blow to Israel and a retaliation against Netanyahu**.
According to the Russian media "Russia Today" and the US media "Newsweek" and other reports, after the US Navy shot down a missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen in the Red Sea, US Republican Senator Lindsay Graham flaunted in an interview with the US media, saying that the US military should bomb Iran's oil fields and the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in retaliation for the Houthis' interference with shipping in the Red Sea. "The U.S. military should wipe [these places] off the map," he claimed. He believes that Tehran is "behind the scenes" of the recent attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria, as well as on Israeli-related ships in the Red Sea
The United States and Iran have been long-term enemies, especially after the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, US military bases in the Middle East have been repeatedly attacked by pro-Iranian forces, and Yemen's Houthi rebels have also launched attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea. In this context, the US senators have been constantly provocative, openly calling on the US military to strike targets in Iran. The United States seems to want to eliminate Iran completely.
It should be pointed out that the United States has formed a multinational alliance to escort the Red Sea, and not only that, but the United States also wants to take the opportunity to control shipping in the Red Sea in order to deploy more US military forces in the Middle East. How can the countries of the Middle East sit idly by and ignore the ambitions of the United States? Among them, Iran reacted the strongest. Iranian officials have announced that if the United States and Israel continue their military operations in Gaza, Iran will block the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar and other waterways, leaving the United States and Israel in a difficult position.
In fact, Iran is capable of doing this. Iran has a large number of armed men who can carry out attacks on Israeli freighters in various regions, leaving Israel and the United States with no peace of mind. As long as Iran and its men continue to attack Israeli freighters, it will have an impact on Israel's economy. And the U.S. escort operation also requires a huge time and money cost, and cannot be sustained forever. Once the U.S. fleet needs to return to port for repairs, Israel will lose its protective umbrella and its combat power will be greatly reduced.
To sum up, the United States has taken advantage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to profit, and Iran has retaliated against Israel, which are the two major hot events in the Middle East recently. These events reflect the hegemony and aggressiveness of the United States and Israel in the Middle East, as well as the resistance and counterattack of Russia and Iran. These incidents have also affected peace and stability in the Middle East, as well as the world's energy and shipping security. We hope that all parties will resolve differences and conflicts through dialogue and negotiation and safeguard peace and development in the Middle East and the world.