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Voters in Taiwan are headed to the polls on Saturday to decide whether Taipei should reignite its nuclear power capabilities as the island faces immense energy vulnerabilities amid growing concern over threats posed by China. 

In May, Taiwan shut the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant — its last remaining nuclear plant — after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) pledged in 2016 to phase out nuclear power by 2025 over concerns relating to nuclear fallout following the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan.

Security experts have since been sounding the alarm that the move further exposes Taiwan’s vulnerabilities to China as the island is highly dependent on energy imports, relying heavily on nations like the U.S., Australia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar for both Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and crude oil imports. 

“Taiwan’s energy dependence is an Achilles heel,” Craig Singleton, China Program senior director and senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), said during a media call following a delegation’s visit to the island earlier this month. 

CHINA EYES TRUMP-PUTIN MEETING, GAUGES WEST’S RESOLVE ON UKRAINE

“Beijing can exploit this issue without firing a single shot,” he added, noting the ease at which China can cut off trade to the island. “China can leverage its maritime dominance, its legal warfare and cyber tools to choke supply and test Taiwan’s political resilience.”

Over the last decade, Taiwan has imported up to 97% of its energy needs, largely through fossil fuel options, which currently make up a little over 90% of its energy usage, while renewables reportedly make up another 7%, according to FDD experts. 

Though prior to its decision to cut ties with the alternative energy option, nuclear power was a strong supply source and provided nearly 12% of the island’s needs in 2011.

 By 2021, that supply had dropped to roughly 9.5% and by the following year it had dipped to just over 4% before completely being eliminated this year. 

Nuclear power for some nations, especially in Europe, has become a solution as they look to drop dependence on carbon-emitting fuels amid escalating concern over climate change.

TRUMP’S REPORTED SNUB OF TAIWAN PRESIDENT SPURS CONCERNS OVER DEFERENCE TO CHINA

But some nations, like Germany, have taken a strong anti-nuclear approach over concerns relating to nuclear fallout — as seen following the devastating consequences of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, which not only affected those in the immediate vicinity of Ukraine, but had resounding effects across Europe. 

Berlin in 2023 also phased out nuclear power entirely — but Taiwan is facing some glaring security challenges that Germany is not. 

Some opponents of nuclear power have also pointed out that wartime scenarios in recent years have shown the security risks surrounding active nuclear power plants — as seen during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its fight over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. 

But experts also argue that Taiwan would likely use up its stores of oil in a matter of weeks to days if China implemented a blockade, according to a report by DW.

Therefore, nuclear power would give Taipei an additional energy storage solution.

JAPAN CALLS AXIS OF CHINA, RUSSIA, NORTH KOREA THE ‘GRAVEST THREAT’ TO GLOBAL ORDER SINCE WWII

“Nuclear power does, in my view, change that calculus, providing a lot of continuity under coercion, and I think it really complicates Beijing’s playbook,” Singleton argued.  

Ultimately, he said that Taiwan needs to better diversify its energy needs in order to better protect against a potential Chinese blockade.

“The U.S. needs to help Taiwan diversify fast, cut exposure to vulnerable suppliers like Qatar, and probably prepare for a contest of endurance because I think that’s exactly how China is thinking about this issue,” he added, noting Qatar’s relationship with China and its large number of LNG exports to Bejing. 

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Singleton pointed out that Ukraine has proven a helpful case study, not just when it comes to the vulnerabilities of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, but how an invading nation can target the vulnerabilities in every aspect of the energy sector. 

“Ukraine shows that energy is one of the fastest ways to undermine a country’s will. And obviously Russia targeted power to free cities and to fracture cohesion and to force concessions,” Singleton explained. “I think Beijing is absolutely studying that playbook.”

As the debate heats up over the delivery of aid into Gaza, Israeli officials have once again questioned the United Nations over its data, specifically aid getting stolen or intercepted and the number of trucks entering the enclave from Israel.

As of Aug. 12, the U.N. Office for Project Services showed that 3,140 trucks have been intercepted en route to their destinations since May 19. Only 412 trucks, 11.6% of the total sent into the region, reached their targeted location. The U.N. said the aid was taken “either peacefully by hungry people or forcefully armed actors.”

On Tuesday, a review conducted by the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) claimed to have found that the U.N. figures have failed to account for the entry of around 6,000 additional trucks since May. COGAT said Israel has allowed about 9,200 trucks to deliver aid to Gaza in the last three months, a figure 2.5 times higher than the around 3,500 trucks counted by the U.N.  

GAZA HUMANITARIAN FOUNDATION: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE US-BACKED AID GROUP

“The fact that the U.N. presents only part of the aid actually transferred misleads the international community and creates a false picture of the situation, directly influencing global media coverage and shaping the positions of international decision-makers regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” a COGAT statement read.

Meanwhile, the often-maligned U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s (GHF) out-of-the-box aid delivery mechanisms continue to show success, according to the group. Theft and looting have not been an issue for the GHF, which continues to provide between one and two million meals per day through distribution sites secured by armed guards. GHF has provided over 130 million meals since the start of its operations on May 27.

“The presence of armed security is one of the reasons why GHF has been able to deliver aid successfully without a single truck being looted,” noting that “in one of the most volatile and complex operating environments in the world, that security is the only reason food consistently reaches civilians without interference from Hamas.”

Though a group of about 230 NGOs initially rejected the organization on account of what they called “militarized distribution sites,” Chapin Fay, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation spokesperson, said things might be changing as over 200 international organizations, “sent a letter calling on the U.N. to collaborate with us.”

“This is not the militarization of aid… It is the only way to make sure food actually reaches civilians. Every decision we make is guided by protecting lives.” 

He said “more aid is the solution to many of the problems in Gaza today” and that GHF is “willing to work with any organization that wants to help feed the people of Gaza.” 

Several weeks ago, Fay toured the vast lots in Kerem Shalom crossing, where pallets of U.N. aid await pickup by drivers. “I saw about a dozen [trucks] sitting roasting, fully laden with dozens of pallets of food in each truck. I saw flour rotting on the side of the road. There were medical supplies that had already expired.” 

Speaking with the drivers who deliver aid to Gaza, he was told they had been in the loading area for five days, living out of their trucks. The drivers said that on the fourth day, they attempted to enter Gaza from Kerem Shalom but were shot at by unknown gunmen in Gaza. He reported that the drivers are now in “fear for their lives,” and asked if GHF would provide security for their trucks.

A U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “the use of armed escorts can undermine perceptions of humanitarians’ neutrality and independence, in turn jeopardizing community acceptance and staff security, and hindering access to civilians in need.” The spokesperson called for armed escorts to “only be used in exceptional circumstances as a last resort.” 

EXCLUSIVE: WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGES MISCONDUCT BY UNITED NATIONS IN GAZA

“Everyone working in Gaza is operating under extremely dangerous circumstances… what is clear is that conditions are not in place for humanitarians or those who support them to deliver aid at scale safely, rapidly and efficiently. We have consistently called for civilians to always be protected and for us to be enabled to reach people in need. 

“In order to reach people in Gaza facing starvation, we need a predictable lifeline of aid via all available crossings and through all available corridors. We also need removal of the impediments we continue to face: delays at checkpoints; impassable, dangerous or congested routes; and restrictions on what can enter and on who is allowed to bring supplies.”

The spokesperson did not respond to questions about the fate of aid that has not reached its destination, or about whether drivers’ fear of kidnap, death and looting is hindering aid dispersion. The spokesperson did claim that “the U.N. and our partners have strict monitoring in place with oversight on deliveries when enabled to do so,” and said that “we do not have evidence of systematic aid diversion from the U.N. to Hamas.” 

Despite statements to the contrary, there continues to be growing evidence that Hamas is diverting and benefiting from humanitarian aid. 

A State Department public assessment provided to Fox News Digital stated that the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of the Inspector General “has received and is actively investigating credible allegations of systematic interference by Hamas in Gaza. These allegations can come from aid workers, whistleblowers and other parties, rather than sanitized disclosures sent by U.N. agencies which refuse to name Hamas as the party responsible for the interference. Whistleblowers, including U.N. staff, may fear political retaliation or violent retribution for sharing information and outing Hamas.”

An Israeli military official told Fox News Digital that, of the aid diverted from U.N. trucks, about 40% is taken by local communities and 60% by armed looters. He said it’s difficult to assess how much aid is stolen by Hamas, as “Hamas is not a force wearing a uniform and identifying themselves.”

The Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) shared a video on X of Hamas looting aid packages on July 29, explaining that “even when aid is delivered into Gaza – Hamas loots it for its own use, blatantly disregarding the needs of the population.”

On Aug. 12, COGAT showed another video on X of armed members of Hamas attempting to avoid targeting by affixing a World Central Kitchen emblem to their vehicle and donning yellow vests. The NGO confirmed that the vehicle was not affiliated with the organization.

AS ISRAEL FACES BLAME FOR THE HUNGER CRISIS IN GAZA, UN’S OWN DATA SHOWS MOST OF ITS AID IS LOOTED

Orde Kittrie, a law professor at Arizona State University and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that Hamas’ obstruction of aid violates international law. 

“Intentionally obstruct[ing] the passage of humanitarian relief, including food, to civilians in need” is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. He said Hamas is violating “the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 11 of which recognizes ‘the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger,’ because it is “starving its own people.”

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“What Hamas is doing represents an unusual, if not altogether new, type of violation of the prohibition on ‘starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.’ This prohibition is typically violated by a military intentionally starving enemy civilians in order to pressure the enemy to surrender or to abandon positions or to divert limited resources to the enemy’s own civilians. In contrast, Hamas appears to be intentionally starving their own civilians in order to leverage their suffering as a strategic information weapon against Israel,” he added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov may be looking to bring China into the ongoing negotiations as NATO leaders and Ukrainian officials convene this week to discuss security guarantees for Kyiv. 

Lavrov suggested that Moscow was only interested in “truly reliable” guarantees for Ukraine, which he argued should be based on a 2022 draft accord that was discussed by Ukrainian and Russian negotiators during the early days of the war.

But the proposal never came to fruition due to a major sticking point for Kyiv, which argued that the plan gave Moscow too much power over its security. 

UKRAINE’S STOLEN CHILDREN CRISIS LOOMS LARGE AS NATO MEETS ON RUSSIA’S WAR

The proposal would have provided Ukraine with security guarantees provided by a group of nations, including the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – which Russia is a part of – which Kyiv said effectively gave Moscow veto powers over any future attempts to provide it with military aid.  

China is also a member of the U.N. Security Council and has not only drawn international scrutiny for its refusal to condemn Russia’s illegal invasion but has faced international rebuke over its support of Moscow during the war. 

“Russia agrees that security guarantees for Ukraine be provided on an equal basis with the participation of countries such as China, the USA, Britain, and France,” Lavrov said Wednesday, according to a translation by Russian state media RIA in a post on Telegram. 

Though it is unlikely that Ukraine would agree to a plan that would grant Russia, and possibly China, any authority over its future security, Beijing said it supports “fair and objective” peace talks.

“China did not create the Ukraine crisis, nor is China a party to it. Even so, China has since day one held an objective and fair position and promoted talks for peace,” Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Fox News Digital, pointing to the “four principles” peace plan that Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced in 2024. 

NATO SCRAMBLES WARPLANES AS RUSSIA HITS NEAR ROMANIAN BORDER IN UKRAINE

“China stands ready to, in light of the will of the parties concerned and together with the rest of the international community, continue playing a constructive role for the political settlement of the crisis,” Liu added. 

Lavrov further accused NATO leaders of “unethical attempts to change the position of the Trump administration and the President of the United States personally” after they met with President Donald Trump on Monday in Washington, D.C.

Few details of the meetings have emerged as leaders from Europe, Ukraine and top Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff, look to establish security terms for Ukraine in an attempt to end the war. 

Lavrov, who has long made controversial comments, described the Monday meetings as “a fairly aggressive escalation of the situation” and “rather clumsy.”

A European diplomat involved in coordinating security guarantees with the U.S. told Fox News that Lavrov’s comments have largely been dismissed by Washington and NATO allies, and have done nothing to derail progress.

“It’s noise,” the diplomat said. “Monday’s display of unity behind Ukraine has put [Russian President Vladimir] Putin on the back foot. These comments point to typical Russian game playing and untrustworthiness – at a time they would do well to engage seriously with President Trump’s push for peace.”

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 “Lavrov has long done this,” the official added. 

The White House also told Fox News that comments coming from Russian officials are largely being ignored unless they come straight from Putin.

In one of the largest overnight strikes since the war began, Russia unleashed some 614 drones, ballistic and cruise missiles across Ukraine, killing one, injuring dozens and destroying an American-owned electronics company less than an hour from two NATO borders, officials confirmed Thursday morning. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy said the strike on the private U.S. company, which involved “several” cruise missiles, was “very telling” following President Donald Trump’s attempts to force Moscow to end its invasion.

RUSSIA’S LAVROV LOOKS TO DRAW CHINA IN ON UKRAINE’S ‘SECURITY GUARANTEES’

“Last night, the Russian army set one of its insane anti-records,” Zelenskyy said. “They targeted civilian infrastructure facilities, residential buildings, and our people. 

“Several cruise missiles were lobbed against an American-owned enterprise in Zakarpattia,” he continued, describing the company as “a regular civilian business, supported by American investment, producing everyday items like coffee machines.” 

“And yet, it was also a target for the Russians. This is very telling,” Zelenskyy added.

The American business is known as Flex Ltd., whose corporate headquarters is in Austin, Texas, but which has business locations across the globe, confirmed to Fox News Digital that the facility only produces civilian consumer goods.

“This facility does not produce, supply, or support any military equipment or defense-related components,” a spokesperson for the company said.

Following the attack, the spokesperson said that “emergency protocols were executed” and the site was fully evacuated.  

“A few employees and contractors were injured, and six individuals remain in hospital and are receiving medical care,” they added.  “We are providing them and their families all necessary support during this difficult time.”

The extent of the damage is still under assessment, the spokesperson confirmed.

Some 15 people were apparently injured in the strike on the city of Mukachevo in the Zakarpattia region – which sits just 30 miles from two NATO nations, Hungary and Slovakia.

UKRAINE’S STOLEN CHILDREN CRISIS LOOMS LARGE AS NATO MEETS ON RUSSIA’S WAR

Flex Ltd. did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions.

The overnight strike included 574 drones and 40 missiles, and hit numerous locations across Ukraine. 

The White House also did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions regarding the president’s reaction to the strike that targeted a U.S. company, though on Tuesday he said, “It’s possible that [Putin] doesn’t want to make a deal.”

“We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks,” he added. 

NATO leaders have repeatedly questioned Putin’s willingness to engage in good-faith negotiations as well as his desire to end his war ambitions – questions that gained little clarity even after Trump’s in-person meeting with the Kremlin chief in Alaska on Friday. 

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France – which has become a leading player backing Ukraine – on Thursday reiterated this point, and in a statement to Fox News Digital, said despite Russian claims that they are “ready to negotiate,” the overnight strikes suggest otherwise. 

“These attacks, the most massive in a month, illustrate Russia’s lack of any genuine intention to engage seriously in peace talks,” a spokesperson with the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs told Fox News Digital. 

“France reiterates its support for President Trump’s initiative in favor of a just and lasting peace and will continue to work with determination alongside Ukraine and its partners,” the spokesperson added. 

The USS New Orleans warship caught fire Wednesday off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, leaving two sailors with minor injuries, officials said.

The fire aboard the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock burned for about 12 hours in the water at White Beach Naval Facility in Okinawa before the blaze was declared extinguished early Thursday morning, the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement.

The fire on the 684-foot-long vessel is under investigation. 

Two sailors were treated for minor injuries, but no details about the injuries were immediately provided.

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Sailors aboard the warship fought the blaze with help from the crew of the USS San Diego, another warship that was moored in the water at White Beach Naval Facility in Okinawa, as well as the Japanese coast guard and military.

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The Navy said its crew will stay aboard the ship. The USS New Orleans, which was commissioned in 2007, can hold up to 800 people.

The incident comes five years after a fire broke out aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard and burned for five days in San Diego in July 2020. A sailor was charged and later acquitted of starting it.

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A Navy report concluded in that case that there were sweeping failures by commanders, crew members and others involved. The ship was left with extensive structural, electrical and mechanical damage and was later scrapped.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made his demands clear on what it would take for him to cease military operations in Ukraine when speaking with President Donald Trump in Alaska less than one week ago, reports confirmed Thursday.

Moscow’s demands — no NATO membership for Ukraine, no Western troops on its soil, and surrender of the Donbas region — were formally delivered to Washington on Friday, according to sources familiar with the Kremlin’s negotiations, Reuters reported.

The report also claimed that Putin would agree to freeze the front lines where it currently stands in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia and relinquish some territory it has captured in the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

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Fox News Digital could not independently verify the update to the negotiations, though it is an apparent shift from a 2024 demand by Putin, who said Kyiv would need to hand over all four regions that Moscow illegally annexed in 2022, including Donetsk and Luhansk — where the Donbas sits — as well as Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.

But Putin’s apparent change in demand also comes following years of Russia’s inability to significantly move the front lines. 

Following the initial invasion in February 2022, Russian forces were able to sweep large sections of territory. But by late summer that year, Ukraine began launching successful counter offenses where it recaptured significant portions of land in Kherson and Kharkiv.

But, since 2023, the frontlines have remained largely stagnant, with Russia reportedly occupying less than 20% of Ukraine — an estimated 7% of which was previously taken in 2014, when Russia fully occupied Crimea and parts of the Donbas. 

Russian forces occupy some 88% of the Donbas, nearly all the Luhansk region and roughly 75% of Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Russian-controlled territory in Sumy and Kharkiv is estimated to equate to roughly 150 square miles combined, and a fraction of this in Dnipropetrovsk.

RUSSIA’S LAVROV LOOKS TO DRAW CHINA IN ON UKRAINE’S ‘SECURITY GUARANTEES’

A senior NATO defense official pointed out that Putin’s wish list was not unexpected and voiced suspicion that he could add to his list of demands in the future.

“Whatever helps to stall,” the official, who spoke to Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity, said. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov raised geopolitical eyebrows this week when he claimed in a televised interview that Moscow has “never talked about the need to seize any territories.”

Instead, his comments escalated concern that Putin’s ultimate war aim is the control of Kyiv, rather than physical occupation of all of Ukraine, which Russian forces have been unable to achieve. 

Lavrov said the Kremlin’s goal is to “protect” Ukrainians from their own government and argued “there can be no talk of any long-term agreements” with Kyiv “without respect” for Russia’s security and the rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War reported this week.  

“These are the reasons that must be urgently eliminated in the context of a settlement,” Lavrov added.

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Concern over Ukraine’s sovereignty and autonomy had been on the rise well before Russia’s 2022 invasion, particularly after the outbreak of massive protests in Belarus following the alleged 2020 re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, a major ally of Putin who has essentially extended Belarus as a puppet state to Russia.

Unease mounted in 2021 when Putin wrote an essay arguing that Ukraine, as well as Belarus, shouldn’t exist independently of Russia. By the end of the year, security experts were sounding the alarm that Putin intended to invade Ukraine. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wants a “strong reaction” from the U.S. government if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not sit down with him for a bilateral meeting.

This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to broker a peace agreement between the two countries, which have been at war since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, although Trump has conceded that Putin may not be prepared to make a deal.

Zelenskyy has said he has already agreed to a proposed meeting with Putin.

TRUMP’S PUSH FOR PUTIN-ZELENSKYY TALKS HINGES ON KREMLIN’S CONDITIONS

“I responded immediately to the proposal for a bilateral meeting: We are ready. But what if the Russians are not ready?” Zelenskiy said at a news briefing in Kyiv Wednesday.

“If the Russians are not ready, we would like to see a strong reaction from the United States.”

Trump separately met with both leaders in the past week, with Zelenskyy visiting the White House along with other European leaders earlier this week and the U.S. president meeting Putin in Alaska last week.

The White House has said Putin was willing to meet with his Ukrainian foe after a phone call this week with Trump.

“President Trump spoke with President Putin by phone, and he agreed to begin the next phase of the peace process, a meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy, which would be followed, if necessary, by a trilateral meeting between President Putin, President Zelensky and President Trump,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.

The path toward peace between the two sides remains uncertain despite U.S. efforts for diplomacy as the U.S. government and its allies attempt to work out potential security guarantees for Ukraine.

TRUMP CALLS WHITE HOUSE TALKS ‘VERY GOOD, EARLY STEP’ TOWARD RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE: HERE’S WHAT’S NEXT

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Zelenskyy said it was unclear what concessions about territory Russia was willing to make to end the conflict. Trump has previously said Kyiv and Moscow would both need to cede territory.

“To discuss what Ukraine is willing to do, let’s first hear what Russia is willing to do,” Zelenskyy said. “We do not know that.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s new deal in the South Caucasus has ended a decades-long conflict and handed Washington a rare strategic foothold on Iran’s northern border, experts say.

The agreement, signed earlier this month between Armenia and Azerbaijan, grants the U.S. a 99-year lease over the Zangezur Corridor – a narrow strip of land that will serve as a critical trade and energy route to Europe, bypassing Tehran entirely. Iranian American journalist and dissident Banafsheh Zand told Fox News Digital the move is “a wonderful gain for the U.S.” that also delivers a “slap in the face” to the regime in Tehran.

The corridor has long been at the center of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which displaced tens of thousands and fueled three decades of instability. Trump’s intervention brought both sides to the table and created what observers say is a new trade and security lifeline linking the Caspian Basin to Europe, bypassing Iran entirely.

ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN LEADERS SEEK TO EASE RUSSIAN AND IRANIAN CONCERNS AFTER US-BROKERED PEACE DEAL

Known as the Trump Route for Peace & Prosperity (TRIPP), economically, the agreement secures Washington a direct role in overseeing the flow of Caspian hydrocarbons to Europe. The U.S. will manage rail and road infrastructure, telecom networks and energy pipelines running through the corridor, giving American companies a dominant position in regional transit for oil, gas and goods. By controlling this artery, the U.S. not only generates billions in future trade and investment but also locks Europe into alternative supply routes that reduce reliance on both Russia and Iran. 

For allies, the corridor offers cheaper and safer access to Caspian energy. For Tehran, it represents lost revenue, lost leverage, and the end of its ability to act as a mandatory gatekeeper for east-west commerce.

Zand said the deal is not only historic but also a direct win for Washington. “It’s a wonderful gain for the U.S.,” she said. “American contractors will be supervising oil and gas from the Caspian Basin, routed through Zangezur and Turkey to Europe. The profit margins are great, and it all happens under NATO’s blessing.”

Zand said the potential goes even further. “Nobody’s talking about it yet, but I don’t think it’s out of the question to see U.S. bases there,” she said. “If that happens, then checkmate the Khamenei regime and Russia.”

TRUMP MAKES PEACE DEAL BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN

For Iran, the corridor represents what Zand called a nightmare scenario. Tehran has long used its geography to shape energy and trade flows. By inserting the U.S. into the region, the new deal effectively strips Iran of that leverage. Zand put it in stark terms: “Iran is shaped like a cat, a sitting cat. This corridor literally runs above the cat’s ears. It bypasses Iran, takes money away from the regime, and pushes them out into the cold.”

Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Iran Program, said the corridor exposes how vulnerable Iran has become in the Caucasus. “Both the defeat of Armenia in the most recent war with Azerbaijan, as well as the political problems between Moscow and Yerevan today, have made it harder for the Islamic Republic to really benefit from its traditional economic and political relationship with Armenia,” he told Fox News Digital.

“They still do have ties, and the regime is an opportunistic actor as much as it is an ideological one. If there is any way to throw stones at this agreement, or extract concessions on the back end, they will try.”

At the same time, he said the strategic picture is clear. “The Islamic Republic is, in essence, carved out of this route,” he said. “This is not just a critical corridor that could bring stability to the South Caucasus and economic improvement for all countries involved-it also drives home the point that the regime has been such a poor guardian of Iran’s national interest that the Iranian state has been excluded from a major transit route just above its border.”

The timing, Zand argued, makes the impact even greater. She pointed to Iran’s weakening position since October 7, 2023, and Israel’s recent 12-day war with Tehran. “The regime was self-isolated when it couldn’t come to Hamas’s or Hezbollah’s rescue. Iraq’s Shiites are saying they don’t want to be controlled, Syria is out, and Hezbollah has been degraded. For those of us who’ve watched the regime for decades, we always knew it was a paper tiger. October 7 and the war exposed it to the world.”

The killing of senior IRGC commanders and nuclear scientists has deepened the sense of vulnerability inside Tehran. “They can huff and puff about blowing the house down, but the truth is, there’s a whole lot of fear among the regime’s leaders now,” Zand said. “Khamenei has even gone into hiding again.”

TRUMP BRINGS PEACE TO CAUCASUS: INSIDE THE ARMENIA–AZERBAIJAN DEAL 30 YEARS IN THE MAKING

Ben Taleblu added that Washington is now using these shifts to turn Iran’s weakness into opportunity. “Wherever the regime is weak, that invites pushback, whether militarily or economically,” he said. “The U.S. has followed Israel’s military success against the Islamic Republic with strikes of its own against nuclear facilities, and it is now following Azerbaijan’s battlefield success with a political and economic success of its own. This corridor is another example of America moving in when Tehran is most vulnerable.”

Zand, whose father was a well-known Iranian journalist and intellectual assassinated by the regime, said she views Trump’s direct involvement as the key to the corridor’s success. “Because it’s Trump, it makes all the difference,” she said.  “Trump doesn’t care about not hurting people’s feelings. He responds to how people act. And with this move, he’s sitting over Iran like a vulture-ominous, watching, ready.”

For dissidents like Zand, the corridor represents more than a transport route. “We’ve prayed for this for decades,” she said. “Until the regime is gone, people inside Iran will remain too afraid to rise up again. But this corridor is a boon. It shows the regime is surrounded, and its days are numbered.”

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The deal was reached with NATO backing and has already been compared by some observers to historic peace accords. Zand believes the significance lies not only in ending a 30-year conflict but also in turning the U.S. presence in the Caucasus into a permanent reality. “The regime knows the jig is up.”

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

An experienced British skydiver — who died during a jump earlier this year — deliberately fell to her death just one day after she and her partner had ended their relationship.

Jade Damarell, 32, of Wales, fell into a field in County Durham, northern England, on April 27 and died of blunt trauma injuries, officials said, according to The Guardian. Coroner Leslie Hamilton ruled the death a suicide during an inquest held on Thursday, the outlet reported.

Damarell — who logged more than 500 successful jumps in her career— intentionally failed to deploy her main parachute and disabled her automatic activation device, which would have released a backup chute at a certain altitude and speed if a skydiver was unable to do so, the Guardian reported. Her equipment was found to be functional after her fall, the outlet added.

Damarell had been dating Ben Goodfellow, a 26-year-old fellow skydiver, for eight months before breaking up, according to the Daily Mail.

WOMAN DIES AFTER FALLING AT LEAST 75 FEET WHILE HIKING IN NORTH CAROLINA

During the inquest, Hamilton summarized a note from Goodfellow, which read that the couple had “ended their relationship the night before” Damarell took her life, the Guardian said.

“The night before Jade died, Ben called off the relationship,” a friend told the Daily Mail.

YOUNG CREWMEMBER MURDERED ABOARD LUXURY SUPERYACHT IN PARADISE DESTINATION

“He went to work the next day, and that’s when Jade fell to her death,” the friend added.

Damarell – who had completed six skydiving jumps on the day before her death – typically wore a camera to capture her dives, but did not wear one during her last jump, according to the Daily Mail.

FATAL SKYDIVING ACCIDENT IN ILLINOIS CLAIMS LIFE OF 40-YEAR-OLD AFTER DIVERS COLLIDE MIDAIR

Her family accepted the coroner’s ruling and expressed gratitude to the skydiving community for its support, saying they were “incredibly comforted by how admired, respected and deeply loved she was,” the Guardian said.

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They remembered Damarell as “brilliant, beautiful, brave and truly extraordinary,” and added that they want to contribute to a “culture where mental ill-health is met with kindness and support,” the outlet added.

Leslie Hamilton did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday appeared to acknowledge for the first time that the troops he sent to fight Ukraine for Russian President Vladimir Putin have suffered losses en masse.

In a ceremony depicting the faces of 100 North Korean soldiers and attended by their family members, Kim honored the “heroic” soldiers while he hugged children and appeared tearful.

Kim first acknowledged that he sent thousands of troops to fight for Putin in Russia’s Kursk region in April before then acknowledging there had been some deaths in early July when he was shown mourning over coffins with North Korean flags draped over them. 

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But the ceremony on Friday is the first time he has acknowledged that more than a handful of soldiers were killed, though it is still only a fraction of the roughly 600 troops killed in the Kursk fight that South Korea’s intelligence reported earlier this year. 

The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in April that, of the 15,000 North Korean troops sent to fight in Russia, there were some 4,700 casualties.

“The combat activities of overseas operational forces… proved without regret the power of the heroic [North Korean] army,” Kim said, according to East2West news service. “The liberation of Kursk proved the fighting spirit of the heroes.”

Russian forces are assessed to have largely retaken Kursk after Ukraine launched a cross-border operation in Russia in August 2024, though reports confirm that fighting in the area persists as Ukrainian forces continue to engage with Russian forces in the region.

RUSSIA’S LAVROV WARNS US AGAINST ‘EXPLOITING’ ALLIANCES AS HE MEETS WITH KIM JONG UN IN NORTH KOREA

The Ukrainian General Staff on Thursday said that Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), along with other unspecified Ukrainian forces, conducted long-range drone strikes against the Novoshakhtinsky Oil Refinery, which supplies Russian forces operating in Ukraine and is one of southern Russia’s largest oil product producers, processing some 7.5 million tons of oil annually, the Institute for the Study of War reported.

Up to 12,000 North Korean troops were sent to Kursk in the fall of 2024, before another 3,000 were deployed in early 2025 to counter Ukraine’s operation. It is unclear how many North Korean troops remain in the southwest Russian region. 

Reports earlier this year suggested that North Korea may look to send additional troops to aid Moscow by the end of the summer, though it is unclear if any additional foreign soldiers have been deployed to Russia. 

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On Friday, Kim suggested that North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine could be coming to a close and hailed the “victorious conclusion of overseas military operations.”

Though it is also unclear if this means troops already deployed to Russia could also be returned home soon.