China ‘wiretapped Red Sea’ with spy hub 6 miles from US base: ex Pentagon official warns

Beijing has transformed the Red Sea into a dangerous surveillance hub, a former Pentagon official warned Sunday, after a new report revealed upgrades to China’s military footprint just six miles from a key $66 million-a-year U.S. military base in Djibouti, Africa.

The report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) cited new facilities which it said would likely enable the Chinese military to monitor activities of other militaries operating nearby, although it also clarified it was not possible to determine whether China was actively intercepting communications.

The developments, one defense expert told Fox News Digital, could also inject fresh tension into U.S.-China relations in the run-up to Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the White House on Sept. 24. Beijing's intelligence-gathering capabilities are already under renewed scrutiny.

"What China is clearly doing is building eavesdropping capabilities. That seems to be their aim," Morgan Murphy, former Trump White House official and press secretary for Mark Esper when he was secretary of defense during the first Trump administration.

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"Beijing has clearly wiretapped the Red Sea. When you build a 30-meter (100-foot-wide) satellite dish and cover it with a dome, so nobody can see where it's pointing, it's pretty clear you're up to no good," Murphy added while stating of the Washington-based think tank, that "the specificity here reflects the thorough research we expect out of CSIS."

The report pinpoints a large southeastern facility showing a control building, three 30-meter dipole antennas for high-frequency communications, two smaller antennas for very and "ultra-high frequencies", three mobile satellite dishes, four probable 5G towers and what CSIS said was a "radome" covering an unidentified asset.

CSIS also highlighted two new communications facilities that it says have emerged since 2024 that are likely to form part of a C4ISR command architecture, expanding China’s ability to intercept signals, track naval movements and communicate with Beijing while monitoring foreign militaries in the region.

The facilities would provide China with "a much more robust picture of the operating environment in the region," the report said.

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"This isn’t a supply depot — it’s a 50-yard line seat over America’s power projection and the U.S. Navy," Murphy said before stating that the USA has "128 bases in more than 51 countries — China has just one."

"But look at the location — a few miles from Camp Lemonnier, overlooking the chokepoint that moves roughly a sixth of global sea trade. Great powers don’t plant listening posts next to rival fleets for 'logistics,'" he warned.

"Britain held Gibraltar to see who entered the Med while Japan’s island radios came before the runways. The Soviets’ overseas sites were never just about fuel and Beijing is running that playbook on the Red Sea," Murphy added.

Although China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jian said China is "unaware of the specific situation" and framed the country as a "builder of international peace," the new facilities provide Beijing with a picture of regional operations, according to Reuters.

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"The new report is helpful in framing the conversation, and it comes at an awkward time for China because Xi Jinping is visiting the White House on the 24th of this month," Murphy said.

"I'd bet a box of donuts this issue comes up. There is going to be public exposure of this, which Chinese leadership isn't used to. They aren't used to being asked tough questions by the press," he said.

President Donald Trump recently addressed Chinese intelligence efforts aboard Air Force One, acknowledging that China "spies on us" just as "we spy on them."

Trump's comments followed a report by The Wall Street Journal linking support from a Chinese entity to high-resolution satellite imagery used by Iran prior to a deadly missile attack on U.S. troops in Jordan.

"They basically do what we do," Trump noted, adding that "Xi has behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well. ... You know what they say? That China spies on us. I say you're right, and we spy on them, too," he said, according to Reuters.

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Murphy noted, "Nations spy on each other — allies and adversaries alike."

"It is a very old playbook, and listening posts all over the world are typical of great powers, but where the metal hits the floorboard is when you try to use that information," he said before adding that China may "keep tabs on us, but they cannot project power like the United States can."

The proximity of China's facility to U.S. operations is a core concern. Located less than six miles from Camp Lemonnier — the primary U.S. counterterrorism hub in Africa — and near French, Italian and Japanese installations, the site has a history of friction with U.S. forces.

"We are just right around the corner from China, and yet it's not a cooperative relationship," Murphy explained.

"Back in 2018, they lasered two of our C-130 pilots' eyes who suffered lasting damage from that incident. Beijing denied it, of course, but we know the truth."

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During the 2018 incident, the Pentagon had formally complained to China after military-grade lasers were pointed at American pilots attempting to land at Camp Lemonnier, causing minor injuries.

While Beijing dismissed the allegations as "groundless accusations," the confrontation underscored the potential for friction between military forces operating from nearby bases.

"China has one overseas base. The United States has more than 128 — by some counts, over 700 installations around the world," Murphy said.

"So it's significant that China has chosen to place its only overseas base six miles from ours in Djibouti. It is hugely strategically important, which is why, of course, we're there."

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"It's our only base on the continent of Africa," he said, noting that it shares a "parking lot" with Japanese and Italian bases.

"At $66 million a year, it's the best money Americans spend on our defense budget, full stop."

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a chokepoint for nearly 16% of global maritime trade and, with significant crude shipments, Houthi attacks and pipeline disruptions have fueled a regional military buildup.

"Interference by China is in their strategic interest. They don't want to see the United States able to control their oil supply," Murphy said.

"China is far more reliant on Middle Eastern oil than the United States. China imports a huge portion — around 33% or more — of their daily oil needs and is highly reliant on long sea lines. You are seeing this muscle-flexing because they are far more reliant on Middle Eastern oil than we are."

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"Having intelligence is one thing, but you must have the ability to act on it. You need assets in the region," Murphy said.

"China doesn't have major combat assets outside their region because they lack a blue-water navy to project power outside the first island chain yet.

"That is coming, and they are working towards it quickly. Americans can take comfort in the fact that they don't have that capacity today, but we must stay alert because the only thing that subdues a threat is a ready posture," he concluded.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Chinese Embassy for comment.

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World leaders descend on New York for UNGA — but who really has America’s ear?

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK — More than 100 presidents and prime ministers will descend on New York this week for one of the busiest gatherings on the diplomatic calendar, arriving at a United Nations confronting wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, economic pressure from disrupted energy markets and fresh questions about the institution’s ability to respond to an increasingly fractured world.

The U.N. expects 73 heads of state and 45 heads of government , alongside 49 ministers, 11 vice presidents and one crown prince, U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters Friday. Member states have already submitted roughly 1,000 requests for bilateral meetings , while 168 events are scheduled during high-level week, according to Dujarric.

Asked Friday to characterize the atmosphere inside U.N. headquarters as the delegations prepare to arrive, Dujarric described it simply as "high stress."

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The General Debate of the 81st U.N. General Assembly begins Tuesday, Sept. 22, under the theme, "Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all."

But beneath the speeches, motorcades and closed-door meetings across Manhattan is another competition: nearly every government represented in New York will be trying, in one way or another, to capture the attention of the United States.

"This is their moment to grab a piece of American mindshare for sure," Frank Ahrens, head of BGR Analytics, told Fox News Digital.

A new analysis released ahead of UNGA attempts to measure which countries already have it.

The 2026 BGR Impact Index , produced by BGR Analytics, the data practice of Washington-based BGR Group, ranks 197 countries and economies according to their overall footprint in the United States, combining economic, cultural, diplomatic, institutional and geopolitical measures. Japan holds the top position for a third consecutive year, followed by Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea.

That competition is especially consequential this year.

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President Donald Trump will return to the General Assembly on Tuesday with the US-Iran war entering its seventh month, while fighting involving the Iran-backed Houthis has placed new pressure on shipping through the Red Sea and raised fresh concerns among Gulf states about regional security. Reuters reported Sept. 18 that European and Asian allies have largely resisted U.S. calls to become more directly involved in the Iran conflict and that the prolonged war has strained Washington’s relationships with some partners.

The stakes extend well beyond Iran. The General Assembly agenda is expected to be dominated also by Russia’s war against Ukraine, Israeli-Palestinian tensions, Sudan, climate change and artificial intelligence. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are among the prominent leaders or representatives expected to speak.

That combination of military power, diplomatic access and public perception gets at the central question behind BGR’s index: what does influence actually mean?

BGR compiled more than 100 indicators, ranging from GDP, population and foreign investment to international students, cultural presence and lobbying activity in Washington.

But one of the most consequential variables in this year’s analysis came from a much newer arena: social media.

"We looked at 4.9 trillion pieces of data across an entire year because we know that a social media campaign can really move a country's perception in the U.S.," Ahrens said. "And that was really the big takeaway from this year's index."

Social-media sentiment accounts for 20% of the index , second only to cultural imprint at 24%. Institutional ties and outward orientation each make up 16%, geopolitical nexus accounts for 10%, economic size 8% and lobbying and Washington influence 6%. BGR says its underlying data comes from publicly available sources, primarily the U.N., U.S. government agencies and established research institutions, while its social-media data is supplied by Meltwater.

For smaller countries, the analysis suggests reputation can produce particularly large swings.

Bahrain was the biggest riser, climbing 22 places , from No. 97 in 2024 to No. 75 in 2026. BGR attributed much of that increase to improved US-facing online sentiment and increased visibility tied to Bahrain’s election to a rotating U.N. Security Council seat, its Arabian Gulf Cup victory and a USS Nimitz port call.

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Georgia moved in the opposite direction, falling 31 positions , from No. 73 to No. 104. BGR said its deteriorating US-facing online sentiment coincided with political unrest and arrests of journalists and opposition leaders.

Ahrens acknowledged that generating attention is not the same as wielding political influence. "Countries that make a lot of noise about themselves do get on the radar, but to stay on the radar, you have to have real accomplishments."

The index attempts to address that distinction by combining sentiment with harder measures such as economic links, institutional rankings, lobbying expenditure and participation in international organizations.

Perhaps BGR’s most unusual example of how national perception can change did not come from a president, diplomat or lobbying operation.

It came from a German soccer fan.

BGR calls it the "Freddy Effect," after a German World Cup visitor whose enthusiastic posts about traveling through the United States went viral this summer.

Ahrens said BGR found that positive sentiment toward Germany increased 13% over roughly three weeks during Freddy’s rise online. BGR links a substantial part of that increase to the reaction generated by his posts, although the data does not independently establish that he alone caused the change.

"Can you recreate a Freddy? I don't know if you can reverse engineer him to that effect," Ahrens said. "But what it shows you is how authentic communication really breaks through on social media."

It is a lesson that may resonate with delegations arriving in New York this week, where hundreds of leaders will have only a few days to secure meetings, shape headlines and make their country’s case.

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Hamas allegedly built weapons depots across Europe, planned terror attacks as Oct 7 anniversary neared

The German federal prosecutor’s office recently announced that it indicted seven people for allegedly securing weapons for the Hamas terrorist organization, with the goal of launching terrorist attacks on the second remembrance date of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.

The indictment has catapulted the danger of Hamas’ network in Europe to Israeli, American and European installations and citizens into the spotlight.

According to the prosecutor’s office, "All of the accused belong to the foreign terrorist organization Hamas. Some time ago, the organization’s military wing (the so-called Qassam Brigades) began establishing weapons depots in Europe. No later than July 2025, Hamas planned a concrete assassination in Germany or Austria targeting representatives of Israel, people of Jewish faith, or persons with pro-Israel views." The seven suspects were arrested between Oct. 2025 and May 2026.

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The statement added, "The attack was to take place in close temporal proximity to the second anniversary of Hamas’s assault on Israel on 7 October 2023 — i.e., in early October 2025."

The indictment listed the nationalities and first names and first letter of the last name of the suspects: German national Abed Al G., Danish national Yousif C., Lebanon-born Borhan El-K., Lebanon-born Wael F.M., German national Ahmad I., Lebanon-born Kamel M., Bulgarian national Mohammad S."

German law shields the last names of criminal suspects for privacy reasons.

The German prosecutors said the suspected Hamas terrorists "had already obtained a functional fully automatic rifle, 13 functional pistols and more than 700 rounds of ammunition. Mohammed A., who is being prosecuted separately, transported some of the weapons to Vienna and stored them there."

According to the German paper Die Welt, "One of the accused was working as a confidential informant for Germany’s domestic intelligence agency. The files show that the informant continued reporting to his intelligence handler while allegedly failing to disclose the full extent of his own involvement in obtaining ammunition for the group."

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Sascha Adamek, a German journalist and the author of the 2026 book "Infiltration: Political Islam Continues Its Advance" told Fox News Digital that "Now the policy of previous federal governments is coming back to haunt them: until 2023 they allowed Hamas and its front organizations to use Germany as a ‘safe haven’ for fundraising and recruitment and also for the radicalization of young people. This dirty deal — that Hamas does not use violence in this country and is therefore left to operate freely — has long been obsolete."

According to the most recent Federal German domestic intelligence report, Hamas could have had as many as 650 operatives in Germany during 2025, the last year of tracking. In 2024, 550 Hamas operatives were active and in 2023 the number totaled 450. The intelligence officials wrote in the report that "The figures refer to Germany and are partly estimated and rounded." According to the report, 1,250 Hezbollah operatives are active in Germany.

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When asked why Germany is allowing Hamas and Hezbollah operatives and members to conduct activities within its territory, the press office of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior told Fox News Digital in part, that, "Hamas, which has been banned from operating in Germany since 2023, has a network of supporters and followers; however, for many years they have tended to act with restraint in public and avoid any outward signs of connection to the organization."

The Interior Ministry’s press office added that "Hezbollah, which is also subject to a ban on its activities in Germany, is not organized under any nationwide umbrella organization or similar supraregional structure. Rather, its supporters are spread across various associations throughout Germany. The focus of the activities of these associations — which are classified as affiliated with Hezbollah —lies in the religious and cultural spheres, as well as in educational programs for children, youth and adults that promote conservative Islam and a Shi’ite identity. In isolated cases, Hezbollah supporters in Germany have been known to engage in specific acts of support for the organization in Lebanon."

When asked if the German government is lax, as critics argue, about eradicating Hamas and Hezbollah terrorism structures, the Interior Ministry said, "On November 2, 2023, the Federal Ministry of the Interior banned the activities of the terrorist organization Hamas in Germany, as these activities violate German criminal law and run counter to the principle of international understanding… Furthermore, its purpose or activities significantly harm the interests of the Federal Republic of Germany. In addition, the Federal Ministry of the Interior had already banned the activities of Hezbollah in Germany on April 30, 2020, as these activities also violate German criminal law and the organization is directed against the principle of international understanding."

The interior ministry noted that "Federal and state security authorities consistently investigate leads regarding possible extremist activities as well as acts subject to criminal prosecution and continuously examine all countermeasures available under the rule of law."

The statement also said, "The Hamas terrorist attack on the State of Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent military operation by Israeli defense forces in the Gaza Strip continue to have an impact on the security situation in Germany and Europe. In addition to the heightened abstract threat level, there continue to be intense pro-Palestinian protests as well as corresponding agitation on social media. Various extremist actors in Germany are inciting hatred and violence against Jews or the State of Israel, or denying its right to exist."

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The presence of indicted Lebanese men highlights the alliance between the two U.S-designated terrorist organizations, Hamas and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

The Iranian regime-backed Hezbollah joined Hamas a day after the Gaza-based terrorist movement invaded Israel in 2023 and slaughtered over 1,200 people.

Germany's Die Welt reported, "The prosecutors alleged the weapons operation was also coordinated from Lebanon, where a Hamas operative allegedly oversaw one of the procurement channels linking members of the network across Europe."

Israel’s Foreign Ministry seized on the report about the planned Hamas terror attacks in Germany and Austria, posting on X:" Palestinian Hamas was planning terror on the streets of Europe. German prosecutors say Hamas plotted attacks in Berlin and Vienna targeting Jewish communities and Israeli diplomats - part of a network allegedly using Turkey as a base for terror operations against European targets. The goal: mark October 7 with more blood."

Matthew Levitt, a leading scholar on Hezbollah and Hamas in Europe from the Washington Institute, told Fox News Digital that "I wrote the only long form, detailed expose on this a while back now in CTC Sentinel [Combating Terrorism Center}, based on court documents and extensive interviews." He added, "Hamas continues plotting in Europe, overseen by senior Qassam Brigades officials in Lebanon and with direct ties to senior Hamas leadership. One of the people arrested in Europe is the son of a senior Hamas leader, Basem Naim."

Levitt published his article titled "Hamas Plots in Europe: A Shift Toward External Operations?" in the Oct. 2025 issue of the West Point journal CTC.

Levitt cited a 2024 German prosecution indictment of alleged Hezbollah terrorists planning possible attacks against an American military base and Israel's embassy. Levitt wrote "The weapons, German officials concluded, ‘were intended to expand Hamas’ activities in Europe. ‘As the investigation progressed, German authorities determined — based on materials found on one of the defendants’ USB storage devices — that the Hamas operatives were considering specific targets in Germany, including the Israeli embassy in Berlin, the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate and the area around Berlin’s Tempelhof airport."

Israel’s Ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, warned that Hamas remains a serious security threat. He told the German media outlet, Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), that "Germany has gone from being a retreat for Hamas to an active terrorist target." He stressed Hamas’ ideology and terrorism affects "all of us" and a coordinated response is required.

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Ukraine targets Russia with over 1,000 drones, killing 2 as Moscow holds last day of elections

Ukraine delivered a barrage of missiles and more than 1,000 drones on Russia, which Moscow is calling the "largest ever" of the war and an attack on its parliamentary elections.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the strike at the "dollars that support the war machine" as a push for Russia to "end its brutal war and choose peace."

"Tonight in the Moscow region, our long-range responses were felt very acutely," Zelenskyy wrote early Sunday morning on X. "One of the key enterprises of the Russian Federation's oil industry and an aggressor's logistics facility have been struck. These are billions of dollars that support the war machine."

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Zelenskyy added that the Ukraine attack was a stern response to Russian aggression, making a future call for the U.S., Europe and the G7 to deliver "new sanctions."

"This week alone, Russia has launched more than 2,000 attack drones against us, most of them jet-powered, as well as 1,700 aerial bombs and 19 missiles of various types," he wrote on X. "Ukraine is constantly looking for and finding ways to defend itself and respond to these attacks on life.

"It is important that our partners also look for and find ways to make Russia feel its war. Now is the right moment to take new sanctions steps against the aggressor and force peace through strength. The United States has the means to do this, Europe has them, and so does every G7 country. We are counting on new, strong steps."

The Kremlin was wrapping up the third and last day of its parliamentary elections this weekend and said two were killed and 20 wounded, according local Gov. Andrei Vorobyov.

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"The biggest attack by enemy drones has been repelled," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Telegram. "This unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections. The enemy did not succeed."

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that its forces shot down a total of 1,110 Ukrainian drones across the country, as well as over the peninsula of Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 450 drones had been destroyed en route to the Russian capital, and that the attack had damaged the Moscow Oil Refinery and a residential building.

"Moscow must end its brutal war and choose peace instead of building layered rings of air defense at the expense of other regions," Zelenskyy wrote in a second X post. "Steps toward de-escalation are on the table – in energy and food security. What is needed is political will. I thank everyone who is strengthening Ukraine’s long-range capabilities. I am grateful to everyone who complements our long-range responses with responses through sanctions."

Ukraine continued to fend off Russian attacks, according to Zelenskyy. A Russian drone strike hit a monastery in Ukraine’s Kherson region Saturday, killing a member of the clergy and wounding four people, he said.

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A Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv also killed three children and their mother Saturday night, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv regional state administration.

Ukraine's latest drone strikes took place on the final day of Russia’s first wartime parliamentary election — balloting that has been virtually devoid of opposition to President Vladimir Putin’s policies.

Russia was also holding the vote in the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claimed after the war began but still does not fully control, and in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was Russia invaded in 2014.

Putin accused Ukraine of trying to interfere in the election, citing what he said was a Ukrainian strike that killed an election official in her home in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region Tuesday. Reuters could not independently verify details of the attack and there was no comment from Kyiv.

Putin told the nation in a televised address before the election that the vote would underline support for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.

"Your choice, and your will, will once again demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our soldiers, that we are a united people bound together by shared values, historical memory, and love for our homeland, and that no one will succeed in dividing or intimidating us," Putin said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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EXCLUSIVE: Russian document reveals sweeping Iran plan spanning nuclear, finance and aviation

EXCLUSIVE: Nonpublic 2024-2026 roadmap shows Moscow and Tehran building financial, energy and industrial ties, creating new channels for trade and cooperation as both face mounting Western sanctions.

A nonpublic Russian government document obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital reveals how Moscow sought to deepen its relationship with Iran far beyond conventional trade — laying out plans for alternative financial channels, nuclear cooperation, Iranian production of Russian aircraft components, major energy projects and new transportation routes stretching toward the Persian Gulf.

The 44-page Russian-language document, titled "Plan for Cooperation Between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran for 2024-2026," is marked "For official use" and was approved on the Russian side on Sept. 2, 2024. It assigns ministries, agencies and state companies responsibility for projects and sets deadlines extending through the end of 2026.

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The document predates the current war involving Iran and the United States by well over a year, meaning it does not establish which projects remain active or how the conflict may have altered Moscow’s plans.

But an independent review of the Russian-language document, along with subsequent public reporting, shows that a number of initiatives described in the roadmap later advanced or materialized.

Keti Korkiya, a research analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Russia Program, reviewed the document for Fox News Digital and said its significance lies less in any single project than in the architecture Moscow was trying to build around the relationship.

"The roadmap is not revelatory: people paying close attention to the relationship between Russia and Iran will see many collaborations between the two countries that have been public for years," Korkiya said in written analysis provided to Fox News Digital.

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"What is more revealing is the architecture of the relationship Moscow is trying to build," she said, pointing to financial mechanisms, transportation routes, energy investment and aviation cooperation as different ways of reducing vulnerabilities created by sanctions and Western economic pressure.

"These are nonpublic high-level documents that illustrate the comprehensive cooperation between Russia and Iran," a European intelligence source who reviewed the material told Fox News Digital.

"It is also strategic, sensitive and highly politicized, focusing on areas like nuclear programs, energy trade and financial transactions that aim to evade the U.S. sanctions," the source said.

A U.S. official, responding on background to questions from Fox News Digital about the financial provisions, said U.S. sanctions have "severely isolated Russia and Iran from the international financial system," adding that efforts by the two countries to develop alternative financial channels and other sanctions-evasion schemes were therefore "not surprising."

The official said Washington closely tracks attempts by sanctioned jurisdictions to develop alternative cross-border payment mechanisms and would seek to disrupt those that facilitate sanctions evasion or illicit finance.

The Russian document itself does not use the phrase "sanctions evasion." Instead, it repeatedly calls for increased use of national currencies, independent financial channels and measures to counter what Moscow describes as "unilateral restrictive measures."

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Some of the clearest provisions concern how Russia and Iran intended to move money.

The plan set a target of increasing the share of bilateral trade conducted in national currencies from 68% in 2024 to 71% by 2026, while also seeking to expand correspondent accounts denominated in national currencies.

More ambitiously, the roadmap calls for the Bank of Russia and the Central Bank of Iran to develop the use of central bank digital currencies for cross-border settlements.

Another provision calls for "ensuring the use of independent systems for transmitting financial messages," including connecting financial institutions to independent channels for exchanging financial information.

The document does not identify which messaging system would be used or explicitly state that the goal was to bypass SWIFT or U.S. financial controls.

But some of that financial integration later became public.

In February 2025, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said Russia and Iran had "practically completely" shifted bilateral settlements into national currencies using their own systems for transmitting financial and banking messages. Interfax, a Russian news agency, reported that the effort was part of a broader push toward independent payment infrastructure between the two countries.

Iran’s ambassador to Russia also said in February 2025 that Tehran and Moscow no longer needed SWIFT for bilateral banking relations and were using their own confidential bank-messaging systems. He said the initial phase of linking Iran’s Shetab payment network with Russia’s Mir system had begun the previous year.

Korkiya said the significance of those measures is cumulative.

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"Individually, none of these initiatives is transformative," she wrote. "Collectively, however, they amount to an attempt to remove single points of vulnerability and build redundancy into the Russia-Iran economic relationship."

The financial effort is paired with a political one.

The roadmap calls for Russia and Iran to coordinate through BRICS and other international institutions against "unilateral trade restrictions," while another provision proposes studying ways to counter "unilateral restrictive measures" and their impact on global markets.

Korkiya said that goes beyond simply finding workarounds.

"Especially interesting is that the roadmap also goes beyond practical sanctions workarounds and includes an effort to build an intellectual and diplomatic campaign against sanctions themselves," she wrote, citing plans for expert communities, discussion platforms and an international forum focused on unilateral restrictions.

A U.S. official told Fox News Digital that financial institutions and intermediaries enabling sanctions evasion expose themselves to "significant sanctions risks," adding that Washington would continue working with partners to "identify, expose and disrupt these networks wherever they emerge."

The official also pushed back on the idea that alternative Russia-Iran systems could displace Western financial infrastructure.

"Russia and Iran can try to build alternative financial channels, but they cannot replicate the reach, liquidity or trust of the U.S. dollar and the international financial system," the official said. "Their efforts will not weaken the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions."

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The financial architecture sits alongside another strategically sensitive pillar of the relationship: civilian nuclear energy.

The plan assigns Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom continued responsibility at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, including fuel and maintenance support for Unit 1 and continuing construction work associated with Units 2 and 3.

The cooperation did not remain solely on paper.

On Sept. 2, 2026, Rosatom said Russian specialists had begun returning to Bushehr, that Unit 1 was preparing for scheduled maintenance and partial fuel replacement, and that nuclear fuel had already been delivered to the site. Rosatom also said work was continuing on the plant and that additional Russian specialists were expected to arrive.

Korkiya noted that the Bushehr Units 2 and 3 project predates the 2024 roadmap, meaning the document did not originate that cooperation but rather incorporated an existing strategic project into the broader Russia-Iran framework.

"Such strategies and protocols confirm that Russia and Iran are closely aligned countries, and Russia almost certainly continues and aims to increase its current cooperation with Iran also in 2026," the European intelligence source said.

Fox News Digital sought comment from Rosatom on the document and the current status of its work in Iran.

The roadmap also identifies specific Iranian oil and gas fields where Moscow sought a role.

It names Shadegan, Kish and North Pars, assigning Russia’s Energy Ministry and unspecified "interested Russian companies" responsibility for advancing the projects.

Those companies are not named in the roadmap. For several projects, the financing column is marked "Confidential."

There is evidence that at least one of the named projects advanced.

Interfax reported on Feb. 13, 2026 that Russian state-owned ZN-Vostok was developing Iran’s Shadegan oil field, while Iranian officials said Tehran hoped to expand Russian investment across additional oil and gas projects.

The roadmap sets milestones for Shadegan through the end of 2025, while work involving Kish and North Pars runs into 2026 and includes legal, commercial and project-analysis work.

That pattern appears repeatedly through the document: ministries, deadlines and strategic objectives are spelled out, while some of the participating companies or financing arrangements remain undisclosed.

BESSENT WARNS IRAN'S OUTSIDE BACKERS TO 'STAY AWAY' AS TRUMP SEEKS TO 'ASPHYXIATE' TEHRAN'S ECONOMY

One of the more unusual provisions goes beyond ordinary trade.

The roadmap calls for Russia to help establish production in Iran of individual parts and assemblies for Russian aircraft.

Russian authorities were instructed to determine which aircraft parts could be repaired or manufactured in Iran, identify Iranian companies capable of producing them, certify selected sites through Russia’s aviation regulator Rosaviatsiya and conclude a localization agreement.

The roadmap set a March 31, 2026 deadline for an agreement on localized production and a Dec. 31, 2026 target for launching prototype production.

Public evidence does show that aviation cooperation advanced in the related area of aircraft maintenance.

In February 2025, Rosaviatsiya’s chief said three Iranian companies had been approved to perform maintenance and airworthiness work on Russian-operated aircraft after an Aeroflot Airbus A330 underwent maintenance in Tehran.

The Russian government also publicly discussed deeper aviation-industrial cooperation with Iran that month, including aircraft manufacturing and joint work on jet engines for passenger aircraft.

But Fox News Digital has not independently verified that the more ambitious provision in the roadmap — manufacturing Russian aircraft components inside Iran — was implemented.

The document also lays out an effort to strengthen the physical transportation network linking Russia and Iran.

It calls for work on a proposed railway built to Russia’s 1,520-millimeter track gauge, stretching from Iran’s border with Azerbaijan toward Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf.

The proposal remained in the planning and negotiation stage in the roadmap.

Separately, Moscow sought to advance the Rasht-Astara railway, a roughly 162-kilometer missing link in the International North-South Transport Corridor.

That project subsequently moved beyond the purely conceptual stage.

Russia and Iran formally launched engineering surveys for the railway in May 2025, according to Russia’s Transport Ministry.

Korkiya said the project had still not reached full construction by late summer 2026, with Russian and Iranian officials continuing to work on the implementation and construction arrangements. She also identified another provision: Iranian investment in port infrastructure in Astrakhan, Russia.

The roadmap calls for a terminal there using Iranian investment, along with warehouses, a logistics park and grain and vegetable-oil facilities. Korkiya found that an Iranian-owned company later operated a terminal in Astrakhan with a railway spur and was building grain and vegetable-oil storage facilities that closely tracked the roadmap’s description, although the document does not identify that company by name and the match cannot be definitively established.

Taken together, the transport provisions point to an effort to build physical trade routes that are less dependent on traditional European corridors.

The roadmap reaches well beyond finance and heavy industry.

It calls for content exchange, journalist training and joint media production, including at least two joint projects and ‘professional training’ for Iranian journalists.

It also calls for Russian technology companies to secure at least two contracts in Iran involving information and communications technology, including "information security," telecommunications and the video-game industry.

US ECONOMIC CHOKEHOLD ON IRAN REACHES PEAK LEVERAGE AS COLLAPSE RISKS EMERGE

The official overseeing the Russian side of the relationship also has a direct connection to President Vladimir Putin’s extended family.

Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev chairs the Russian side of the Permanent Russian-Iranian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Tsivilev is married to Anna Tsivileva, a Russian deputy defense minister and the daughter of Putin’s late cousin, Reuters reported when Putin appointed her to the Defense Ministry in June 2024.

The European intelligence source argued that the connection reflects the political importance Moscow attaches to Iran.

"It should be emphasized that on Russia's part, the economic cooperation with Iran is coordinated and managed by a representative of Vladimir Putin's extended family," the source said.

"This indicates that the Iranian matter is not just one of many bureaucratic issues in the agenda of the Russian government. But it holds significant value for the interest of the Vladimir Putin regime."

"What is also notable is the degree of state coordination and institutionalization behind this effort," she said, pointing to the involvement of central banks, ministries, regulators and state companies, as well as formal deadlines and confidential financing in some projects.

"That suggests Moscow is trying to turn what could otherwise remain a politically convenient partnership into something more durable and bureaucratically embedded," Korkiya said.

Russian and Iranian officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital also sought comment from Rosatom and from Russian officials responsible for Moscow’s participation in BRICS.

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'Devoted' father and grandfather-to-be swimming at popular beach killed in suspected fatal shark attack

A "devoted" father and grandfather-to-be was reportedly killed by a shark this week while swimming at a beach in Australia.

Greg O'Neill, 63, was swimming at Sorrento Beach in the northern suburbs of Perth in Western Australia on Friday when the attack happened in front of horrified beachgoers.

"I couldn’t believe there was that much blood (that had) come out of a human body," Ryan Rowe, a resident who went to the beach soon after the attack, told The West Australian newspaper.

AUSTRALIAN SURFER RISKED HIS LIFE TO SAVE FELLOW SURFER WHO HAD BEEN ATTACKED BY A SHARK

O’Neill’s death also prompted Australia's fisheries minister, Jackie Jarvis, to make the rare call for a catch-and-kill of the great white, which is a protected species.

"In making that decision, I considered the exceptional circumstances of the attack, the hazard posed by the shark, and the potential recovery of coronial evidence," she said.

MAN DIES AFTER ATTACK BY 13-FOOT GREAT WHITE SHARK NEAR POPULAR ISLAND RESORT: OFFICIALS

Police haven’t said if O’Neill’s remains have been found, but added they were confident the "swimmer died as a result of the attack."

Witness Darrel Haythornthwaite told Nine Network television that O’Neill was swimming with a friend when he was attacked.

"I was just shocked. I mean, I feel for his mate," Haythornthwaite said. "He's apologized and said 'I didn't save my mate’ … I said, 'You couldn't have done anything.'"

AUSTRALIAN MOTHER HEALING WITH 'BEAUTIFUL MESSAGES' AFTER LOSING ARM TO SHARK ATTACK

O’Neill told ABC News Australia, "Our family is deeply shocked and devastated by the terrible tragedy that took the life of father, grandfather-to-be, brother, uncle, husband and friend, Greg James O'Neill."

"He was a generous, devoted family man that gave his children so much love, care and opportunity. Greg loved the ocean and was known as a passionate swimmer, sports lover, dedicated worker and an all round generous, witty guy," the family added. "The kind thoughts and support from everyone who has reached out are deeply appreciated."

A surfer also suffered a serious leg injury on Monday in a shark attack about 250 miles north of Perth.

O’Neill was the fifth fatal shark attack this year.

Three spearfishing divers were killed between May and June in attacks and a 12-year-old boy was killed in Sydney Harbor in January.

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Cuba plunges into total blackout as electrical grid collapses again, US Embassy warns

Cuba experienced a total power failure on Friday, according to the U.S. Embassy in Havana.

The embassy said the failure was due to the "collapse of Cuba’s electrical grid. 

According to Cuban regime media, the reason for the collapse is under investigation and the timeline to restore power is unknown."

"All U.S. citizens in Cuba or planning to travel to Cuba should be aware and plan accordingly. There are reports of cellphone and internet outages," the embassy added, noting that Cuba’s electrical grid is "increasingly unstable," which has led to "multiple" nationwide power outages in the last few months.

CUBA’S ECONOMIC FREEFALL IS HIDING A NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT JUST MILES FROM FLORIDA: REPORT

The embassy added, "The electrical system remains vulnerable, and additional regular outages have been occurring more frequently and for longer periods. Scheduled power cuts occur daily, and unscheduled outages persist throughout Cuba."

Cuba’s energy ministry also posted about the power outage on social media.

LEFT-WING INFLUENCER DOWNPLAYS CUBA BLACKOUTS: WORSENING SHORTAGES; 'PEOPLE ARE PARTYING'

The country’s power system has been struggling because of fuel shortages, the U.S.-imposed oil blockade and crumbling infrastructure.

CUBA’S DICTATORSHIP HAS LONG BEEN A THREAT TO AMERICA. NOW, IT’S FINALLY TEETERING

Even when there isn’t a national outage, the country often suffers through rolling blackouts that leave millions without power.

The last national outage happened just last month, and Friday's marks the seventh one this year.

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