Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused North Korea of escalating its military support, alleging that the Asian country is no longer limiting its assistance to equipment, but has sent personnel to the front lines alongside Russian troops.

The Ukrainian president spoke late last week about North Korea’s increased backing of its Russian ally by deploying soldiers to Ukraine.

“We see an increasing alliance between Russia and regimes like North Korea. This is no longer just about transferring weapons. It is actually about transferring people from North Korea to the occupying military forces,” he said.

He called on Ukraine’s allies to reassess their response to the relationship between the two countries, urging the West to provide more weapons.

“The front line needs more support. When we talk about giving Ukraine greater long-range capabilities and more decisive supplies for our forces, it’s not just a list of military equipment. It’s about increasing the pressure on the aggressor – pressure that will be stronger than what Russia can handle. And it’s about preventing an even larger war,” he emphasized.

(QG – Source : Al Jazeera / Picture: © Unsplash)

Beyond US shores, November’s presidential election will also determine the fate of the Middle East. Donald Trump says he’s “the most pro-Israel president in US history,” Kamala Harris is for equity in the region.

When US voters cast ballots, the whole world watches in suspense. This year, no region will be more directly affected by the result of the US November’s presidential election than the Middle East — which has been caught up in its latest cycle of violence since the Islamist group Hamas launched a terror attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.

The US, Israel’s closest ally, holds considerable geopolitical sway in the region and can directly influence the future course of events there. No matter if Kamala Harris follows fellow Democrat Joe Biden into the White House or Donald Trump returns after being voted out of office in 2020, the election will have a profound impact on the region.

Trump, a friend to Israel

Trump sees himself as “the most pro-Israel president in US history” according to a video he posted on his social media platform Truth Social. As president, he fulfilled many of Israel’s most long-held wishes: In 2018, he had the US embassy moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem — something that other countries, including Germany, have refused to do, pointing to East Jerusalem and its as yet unresolved status under international law.

In March 2020, the US also recognized the Golan Heights, which Israel annexed from Syria, as sovereign Israeli territory.

Shortly afterwards, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner presented a peace plan that was widely seen as being one-sided in favor of Israel. Trump then cut funding to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, as well as making it difficult for the citizens of numerous Muslim countries to enter the US.

In the fall of 2020, the US negotiated the Abraham Accords, a series of bilateral agreements in which Israel — 70 years after its founding — normalized relations with a number of Arab and North African states.

Donald Trump welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu to his Florida home in July
© Amos Ben Gershom/IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Would that trend continue if Trump were to return to the White House?

“Trump will certainly continue to reach out to Israel,” said Peter Lintl, Middle East expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), a Berlin-based think tank. It is also possible that Trump’s plans for ending the current conflict would largely benefit Israel, he said.

But more recently Trump has also warned Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lintl noted. In an April radio interview, Trump called for a swift end to the war between Israel and Hamas, saying Israel was “absolutely losing the PR war” as images showed the widespread suffering of civilians in Gaza.

“This war could be a real millstone for Trump,” Lintl told DW. “He may therefore put much more pressure on Netanyahu to end it than [President Joe] Biden has been able to over the past several months.”

Harris under pressure on the campaign trail

Biden has repeatedly attempted to talk Netanyahu out of undertaking military operations — such as a ground offensive in the Gaza city of Rafah — yet he has failed at every turn.

In March, the US abandoned its usual approach in the UN Security Council and decided not to use its veto power to block a cease-fire resolution critical of Israel’s military operation.

Julien Barnes-Dacey, Middle East director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) — a non-profit, pan-European think tank — says Biden possesses the tools to pressure Netanyahu but has thus far been reluctant to use them.

“I think the question is: will Harris decide that the moment has come for the US to use its political influence over Israel to squeeze them and press them towards the cease-fire,” said Barnes-Dacey.

“Will they condition the ongoing provision of very important US military assistance on an Israeli shift towards a cease-fire?” he asked, adding that he doesn’t expect Harris to make an about face on the issue.

The Middle East poses a unique challenge for Democrat Kamala Harris, who needs the support of both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian voters
© Nathan Howard/REUTERS

So far, Vice President Harris has been moderate in her public statements, underscoring Israel’s right to defend itself, while at the same time bemoaning “far too many” civilian deaths in Gaza and calling for deescalation and a cease-fire in Gaza as well as Lebanon.

“It’s a tough situation for Kamala Harris,” said SWP’s Peter Lintl. “It’s clear that Trump runs no risk of alienating the Republican base with his pro-Israel policies. Things are a little different for Harris though because she runs the risk of losing not only her pro-Israel supporters but also pro-Palestinian voters, not necessarily to Trump but to the non-voting bloc.”

And that is naturally a situation that could cost her the presidency in a close election, that’s why she has remained relatively quiet on the issue.”

US-based Middle East analyst Mohammed Al-Satouhi told DW he believes Biden’s inability to deescalate the situation could ultimately spell trouble for Harris.

“With the conflict spreading north into Lebanon, and fears that a regional war could break out at any time amid high tensions with Iran, Harris is also suffering from a decline in support among American Arabs and Muslims, especially Michigan, which is an important swing state,” he said.

Dealing with Iran: from sanctions to air strikes

Iran has taken on a pivotal role in the current Middle East conflict. Not only did Iran directly attack its archenemy Israel for the first time earlier this year, it has also continued to back groups hostile to the Jewish state — such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi militants in Yemen. Iran’s nuclear program — restarted in 2018 after Trump withdrew the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal — poses a further threat. Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama had signed the agreement, which envisioned sanctions relief for Iran in exchange for Tehran giving up its nuclear ambitions.

As president, Trump pursued a “policy of maximum pressure” to force Iran to cease all belligerent acts aimed at the US. His administration leveled harsh economic sanctions on Iran and in early 2020 Trump ordered the targeted killing of high-ranking Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

Trump’s current running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, has praised that approach on the campaign trail, saying, “If you’re going to punch the Iranians, you punch them hard.”

But could a Republican victory in November signal a direct US military confrontation with Iran?

“I’m not so sure that is Trump’s dream scenario,” said Peter Lintl. “Maybe a few air strikes … maybe he’ll back targeted Israeli military or intelligence services operations. But I think he’d shy away from a full-scale war involving US ground troops.”

The ECFR’s Julien Barnes-Dacey can also envision US support or even participation in Israeli air strikes. And he agrees that a US troop deployment seems highly unlikely.

He adds that Trump would again turn up economic pressure on Iran: “This would involve a much tougher implementation of US sanctions, looking to ensure that Iran has no space whatsoever to maintain any oil sales and really using the combined political, economic and possibly military pressure to force significant compromises out of Iran.”

Kamala Harris has said that one of her “highest priorities” would be to ensure that Iran, “never achieves the ability to be a nuclear power.” In 2019, she called for the reimplementation of the JCPOA, though she has not repeated such calls since, nor has she explained how she would achieve her goals vis-a-vis Iran.

What role for the Palestinians?

No matter whether it is Trump or Harris, the next US president will need get the region’s most important power, Saudi Arabia, involved in any effort to bring stability to the Middle East.

The Gulf monarchy remains the only direct neighbor not to formally recognize the Jewish state. It would have been the crown jewel in Trump’s Abraham Accords had he been able to normalize Saudi-Israeli relations; something Biden, too, has sought to do.

Thus, both presidential nominees would seem likely interested in bringing about an agreement. But Saudi Arabia has said it won’t sign on until serious steps are taken to create a Palestinian state.

Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz champion classic Democratic policies such as calling for Palestinian statehood and a stop to illegal Israeli settlement building
© Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

In the US, Democrats clearly support a so-called two-state solution and vehemently condemn Israel’s illegal West Bank settlements. The Biden administration has gone so far as to sanction individual settlers.

That is a very different approach than the one taken by Trump, who is ideologically more closely aligned with Netanyahu’s far-right religious government and its absolute rejection of the concept of a two-state solution.

“I think the Harris team will know that they need to have a political deal with the Palestinians to allow for Israel’s wider integration,” said Julien Barnes-Dacey, “compared to a Trump team that essentially thinks that it can integrate Israel at the expense of the Palestinians.”

Mohamed Othman Farhan contributed to this article, which was originally published in German.

Author: David Ehl

Storm ‘Nadine’ is gaining steam in the Atlantic – and its odds of becoming a hurricane have tripled.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) released its updated forecast Tuesday, showing a 30 percent chance of turning into a hurricane by Thursday.

The previous report showed just a 10 percent chance that the storm would reach hurricane proportions within 48 hours.

The upgrade comes amid intensifying wind speeds.

Meteorologists are closely monitoring potential Nadine that could barrel over Florida or take another path toward Mexico and Central America.

‘This system is forecast to move generally westward, and environmental conditions could become more conducive for gradual development by the middle to latter part of this week,’ the NHC shared in the 8am ET update.

The storm, formally known as Invest 94L, was previously categorized ‘as a disturbance,’ but was upgraded to a tropical depression Monday after its surface winds reach 38 miles per hour that created cyclones on the Atlantic.

When it approaches warmer waters, a depression brings devastating rain and thunderstorms that cause severe floods and can develop into a hurricane if it reaches 74-mile-per-hour winds.

It’s unclear if the tropical storm will definitively develop into a a hurricane or when, but the NCH said the storm has a 60 percent chance of growing into a hurricane within the next seven days.

The tropical depression is currently located several hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands but could gradually develop into a hurricane as it reaches the warmer waters near Florida.

It is expected to track northwest, passing Antigua’s northern tip and head toward the Dominican Republic and southeastern coast of Cuba.

‘There still is a scenario where that feature could find a way farther to the north and enter the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, but the chances of that seem to be diminishing,’ AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva reported.

However, there is now a second area of concern as an area of low pressure is developing over the southwestern Caribbean Sea.

There are ‘two main areas that are most likely to spur tropical development in the next few days to a week or so, and one or both features could still find a way to impact Florida,’ AccuWeather meteorologists told USA Today.

The second storm, which will be named Oscar, ‘has been showing some signs of life off and on in recent days but could be entering a much more favorable area for tropical development this week as it nears the Leeward Islands in the northeastern Caribbean,’ DaSilva said in the AccuWeather report.

If the tropical depression in the Atlantic makes landfall it would occur in the next nine days

DaSilva told DailyMail.com that it’s unlikely the storm will reach hurricane status.

As the storm passes over the Virgin Islands, the mountains could disrupt its growth.

He added that ‘there is a low chance of direct impact to the US because there’s a wind shear that might protect us.’

A wind shear consists of strong upper-level winds that can remove the heat and moisture from the eye of a hurricane and distort its shape, effectively ripping it apart.

If the storm were to develop into something bigger, DaSilva said it likely won’t occur until October 17 through 18 and meteorologists won’t know which path the storm will take until then.

‘I don’t think would it would hit us at all,’ he said, adding that ‘it will either just be pushed out to sea or nothing left by the time it gets to the US.’

However, the storm is still very far out and if it does impact the States, it wouldn’t be for another nine days, ‘so things can still change,’ DaSilva said.

The storm’s strength depends on how long it spends over water which could allow it to grow and develop into a hurricane.

‘One possibility would take the system westward into Central America and southern Mexico, and the other is, unfortunately, toward Florida,’ DaSilva said in an AccuWeather report.

If the tropical depression moves toward Central America, it won’t have as much time to strengthen, but if it’s path shifts northern toward the Gulf of Mexico, it could provide the climate needed to grow.

‘Not only are waters very warm in this area—well into the 80s Fahrenheit down deep- the ocean heat content in the western Caribbean is at record high levels for any time of the year,’ DaSilva said in the report.

The tropical storm could head for Florida or Mexico and Central America over the next week

The impending storm comes as Florida is working to recover from Hurricane Milton which hit Tampa and traveled across the state last week and triggered deadly tornadoes.

At least 17 people were killed in Florida and while the state is still assessing the financial toll, the damages are estimated to be in the billions.

Milton also came after Hurricane Helene which struck the southeast two weeks prior, leaving states up and down the coast under water.

Helene cost between $30.5 billion and $47.5 billion in total damages across 16 states, according to CoreLogic, and has so far claimed the lives of more than 230 people, with countless others still reported missing.

This year has already seen above average hurricanes for mid-October, with four major hurricanes including Beryl, Helene, Kirk and Miltonhitting the US.

In May, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the US would have an above-average hurricane season and predicted between four and seven Category 3 or higher hurricanes would strike.

The prediction so far has proven true, with mid-October seeing above historical averages.

The hurricane season extends from June 1 through November 30.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the National Hurricane Center for comment.

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