An initial Russian freight train has arrived at Iran’s Sarakhs railway station in Khorasan-Razavi province on the border with Turkmenistan, IRNA reported on July 12.

The rail haulage development is important in the context of the accelerated development of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). A big aim of the corridor is to provide Russia with substantial import-export trade access to the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman (Indian Ocean) via Iran, while also allowing it to develop trade links with Iran’s Arab neighbours to the west. INSTC has been under discussion for years, with little tangible progress in realising the project, but it has taken on a new lease of life given how Western countries have cut off access to Russian hauliers following the invasion of Ukraine. The Iran route now provides Moscow with increasingly vital options when it comes to trade with India and other points east. The Russian freight train is reportedly pulling 39 containers with building materials for India. It departed from Chekhov station in the Moscow region before covering 3,800 kilometres to reach Sarakhs.

International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) (ClearIAS)
Iran Proudly Embraces Its Geo-Economic Role In Integrating Eurasia (Andrew Korybko)

French President Emmanuel Macron suffered a humiliating setback in parliament after his vaccine passport scheme was defeated.

Macron’s minority government wanted to extend the policy whereby anyone entering France has to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test. However, the right-wing populist National Rally (RN), the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) and the right-wing Republicains (LR) all united to vote against the policy. Macron’s government lost the vote by a margin of 219 votes to 195. [...] The bill was one of the first put to parliament by the new minority government, highlighting how Macron will find it incredibly difficult to get new laws passed in the country. Elisabeth Borne, the French Prime Minister, condemned the vote.

One of the most vexing parts of the Covid-19 pandemic may soon make a comeback, as the World Health Organization is calling on nations to reinstitute compulsory mask policies.

On Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in public remarks the return of masks is needed due to a purported increase in Covid cases.

💬 “…There is a major disconnect in COVID-19 risk perception between scientific communities, political leaders and the general public,” the WHO director stated. “This is a dual challenge of communicating risk and building community trust in health tools and public health social measures like masking, distancing and ventilation.”

Ghebreyesus went on to claim mask policies must be reimplemented to combat the rise in new Covid cases. [...] The WHO director’s latest calls for masks belie a multitude of studies conducted during the coronavirus pandemic proving masks have little to no effect countering viral transmission of the coronavirus, and in fact may adversely affect childhood intellectual development. While masks are evidently ineffective, many liberal strongholds, places like California’s Bay Area, New York City, and even France, are voluntarily reimposing mask mandates in alleged efforts to slow the spread of Covid infections.

Mercola: How Face Masks Make You Sick Instead Of Protecting You (Technocracy News)

Jim Smith – whose concurrent roles as a Pfizer board member and Reuters CEO appear to pose a conflict of interest – serves as a board member of the World Economic Forum’s anti-corruption initiative.

Smith’s leading role with the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Partnering Against Corruption Initiative follows controversy over his position at the pharmaceutical giant and mainstream media outlet, which frequently reports on Pfizer. Reuters has published tens of thousands of articles covering or mentioning Pfizer, though the articles never disclose Smith’s affiliation with either entity. Smith serves on the board of the WEF’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative, dubbed the “leading business voice on anti-corruption and transparency.”

Russia says the United States and its allies are on the brink of an open military conflict with Moscow, as tensions continue to grow between the Kremlin and the West over Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the remark in a statement on Tuesday, warning that any such confrontation would include nuclear tensions.

💬 "After provoking an escalation of the Ukrainian crisis and unleashing a violent hybrid confrontation with Russia, Washington and its allies are dangerously teetering on the brink of an open military confrontation with our country, which means a direct armed conflict between nuclear powers. Clearly, such a confrontation would be fraught with nuclear escalation," Zakharova said.

Since the onset of Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, the United States and its European allies have unleashed a flood of advanced weapons into Ukraine and imposed waves of unprecedented sanctions on Moscow. Russia says the weapons and the sanctions only prolong the war.

US provides Kiev with intelligence on Donbass targets – Moscow (RT.com)
Russia says it’s ready for ‘big, colossal war’ with NATO (American Military News)
Deadly NATO Weaponry is Forcing Russia to Annex Ukraine (H. Macow) - The HIMARS system is inflicting unacceptable casualties forcing Putin to call an emergency meeting of the DUMA on July 15. Since these rockets are guided by US Satellites, the US and Russia are already in a state of war. By offering Russian citizenship to all Ukrainians, Putin is signalling that Russia intends to absorb the whole country by necessity.
HIMARS hit Kherson. (EU ready to steal Russian assets. Elensky upset with Trudeau) (Alex Christoforou - VIDEO)