UPDATE #1: Russia will NOT allow its main ally in the Middle East and fellow BRICS+ member, Iran, to be defeated and destroyed! Russia has told the US and Israel, quietly, that it will step in if the West goes too far in the coming regional war.

Israeli source: "The Israeli Ministry of State Security is building an underground shelter in Jerusalem for the country's leadership in case of war."

Thank you Captain Obvious! One would think with all the attacks they've made for years against other countries, the thought that someone might actually fight back seems to have eluded the Israelis. NOW, they're building bunkers? NOW????? A little late, I'd say.

UPDATE #2 Israel is ready to preempt Iran. | "We will not wait and try to intercept the attack in the air, that will be the second stage," said a senior Israeli security official.

UPDATE #3

• The Syrian national airline has postponed flights to Dubai scheduled for tomorrow "due to urgent circumstances."

• Numerous Iranian elected and other Officials are now publicly commenting "this time a direct strike on Israel will occur without warning."

• Israeli officials claim that a combined Iranian attack with Hezbollah could happen at any moment.

• Israel's Channel 12 reports that the country's security chiefs are considering 'preventive actions or attacks' in both 'Lebanon or perhaps in other places as necessitated'

• Israeli PM Netanyahu & his entire cabinet & IDF top generals have officially moved into a large-scale bunker in the city of Jerusalem, in fear of Iranian attack.

• Numerous Emergency Action Messages being transmitted by US Military on Global High-Frequency Communications System via 8992KHz and 11.175KHz

https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/news-selections/world-news/flash-russia-to-enter-middle-east-war-to-protect-iran-if-needed

If the year of 2024 has proven anything so far, it’s that our worries about the potential outbreak of WWIII are absolutely reasonable. The skeptics making accusations of “conspiracy theory” and “doom and gloom” have been proven wrong yet again. The geopolitical atmosphere is turning sour fast.

I still don’t think a lot of people realize how truly volatile the situation is globally right now. From my point of view, WWIII has already begun, at least in economic terms.

Let’s not forget the fact that Ukraine is essentially a proxy for all of NATO against Russia. And, the situation in the Middle East is about to become much worse. Because of the alliances involved and the fragile nature of global energy exports there is a danger of systemic collapse should a wider war break out between Israel and multiple Arab nations. It appears that such a war is imminent. But why should Americans care? It’s pretty simple – War spurs shortages, and shortages in the middle of a stagflationary crisis are a very bad thing. Sanctions against Russia affect around 10% of the global oil market and around 12% of global natural gas consumption. But so far all that oil and natural gas is still flowing around the world, only the trade routes have changed. The Middle East, on the other hand, accounts for over 35% of the global oil market and 18% of the natural gas market. Widespread chaos in this region would mean economic crisis on a scale not seen in a century.

Think we have problems with stagflation now? Just wait until energy prices go to the moon.

Around 30% of all oil exports travel through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage which a nation like Iran can easily block for months at a time. Sinking a few larger vessels in the straight would obstruct all cargo ship traffic and oil tanker traffic. Trying to clean up the mess would be difficult because artillery, which is almost impossible to intercept, can rain down from Iran on any vessels trying to drag sunken ships out of the way. Iran has mutual defense pacts with multiple governments in the region including Lebanon and Syria, along with military ties to Russia. The Turkish government is unlikely to allow western troops to use their airspace to launch attacks. The US military presence in Afghanistan is gone and the Iraqi government will never allow foreign troops to use their land to come to the aid of Israel. This greatly limits the west’s launch points for an offensive large enough to blitz Iran. The vast majority of attacks would be from the air, and if the Russians start supplying Iran with batter radar and missile technology then there’s no guarantees Israel or the US would gain full control of the air space. In other words, if a wider war breaks out it will not end for YEARS and it’s going to be fought on the ground.

Of course, most establishment experts have claimed that the situation will never escalate to that point and that the threat of direct confrontation between Israel and Iran is minimal. I have been predicting the opposite for a number of reasons, just as I predicted that there was a high chance of war in Ukraine months before it happened. There is potential for near-term war and a potential that we might lose such a conflict…We need our allies to produce more. Our defense industrial base is in very bad shape. The European defense industrial base is in even worse shape. We need our industrial base, their base, and the industrial base of our Pacific allies. Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan–they all need to be stepping up because to match what Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are doing is beyond our ability to do it ourselves.

I have written about the logistical shortcomings of the west in a WWIII scenario for some time now. At the top of the list will be manpower, just as we have seen in Ukraine. This is why we have been hearing military and political officials hint about a new draft over the past two years. They know what’s coming. A draft to fight for globalist causes is unacceptable. I’m not going to delve into debate over whether it’s right or wrong for western countries to throw their weight behind Israel. Frankly, I don’t care about that argument. I don’t have anything invested in either side of the conflict. I care about Americans. And, I know that making the US military the go-to solution to the Middle East problem is going to end with a lot of dead Americans. I also know that the expanding crisis would make certain special interest (globalists) very happy.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trigger-wwiii-just-arrived-what-are-implications-americans

UPDATE #4

China: If Iran and its allies are attacked by the United States, we will take countermeasures.

Hezbollah attacks the IDF headquarters in Illit, Israel, 30 km from the border with Lebanon, using drones.

One of the drones appears to have fallen on an Israeli army position, multiple casualties at the scenes.

https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/news-selections/world-news/flash-russia-to-enter-middle-east-war-to-protect-iran-if-needed

Stock Markets Continue To Crash… WORLDWIDE

Stock Markets around the world are cratering in pre-market futures trading this morning. It's going to be a bad day in matters financial.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index plunged as much as 7.1% early Monday before recovering some lost ground, extending sell-offs that began last week.

At one point, the Nikkei shed more than 2,500 points. By the time of the Tokyo market’s midday break, the index was down about 5.5%, or about 1,900 points, at 33,945.43.

The market’s broader TOPIX index fell as much as 7.8% before recovering to trade down 6.6%.

Stocks tumbled Friday on worries the U.S. economy could be cracking under the weight of high interest rates meant to tame inflation. Early Monday, the future for the S&P 500 was 1.4% lower and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.5%.

“To put it mildly, the spike in volatility-of-volatility is a spectacle that underlines just how jittery markets have become,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. “The real question now looms: Can the typical market reflex to sell volatility or buy the market dip prevail over the deep-seated anxiety brought on by this sudden and sharp recession scare?”

A report showing hiring by U.S. employers slowed last month by much more than expected has convulsed financial markets, vanquishing the euphoria that had taken the Nikkei to all-times highs of over 42,000 in recent weeks.

Investors will be watching for data on the U.S. services sector from the U.S. Institute for Supply Management due later Monday that may help determine if the sell-offs around the world are an overreaction, Yeap Jun Rong of IG said in a report.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan’s Taiex saw the largest decline, sinking 7.4%. Market heavyweight and computer chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. lost 5.3%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 2.1% to 16,945.51 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 1.3% to 7,725.40. South Korea’s Kospi declined 3.4% to 2,570.64.

On Friday, the S&P 500 sank 1.8% for its first back-to-back losses of at least 1% since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 610 points, or 1.5%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 2.4% as stocks retreated around the world and back to Wall Street.

Friday’s losses for tech stocks dragged the Nasdaq composite 10% below its record set last month. That level of drop is what traders call a “correction.”