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Iran’s Achilles heel is a tiny island located 25 km from its coast. The question is whether the US will dare to attack it

March 9, 2026 by usatoday24

Until practically the day before yesterday Kharg island It was unknown to the vast majority of Europeans. Normal. To begin with, because it is thousands of kilometers from the heart of the EU, in the Persian Gulf, about 25 kilometers from the Iranian coast. It’s not particularly big either. It measures about eight kilometers long and 4.5 km wide. Despite all that, Kharg is perhaps the point that attracts the most attention. is hoarding (from Europe, but also the United States, China and Russia) in the convulsive geopolitical board with which March has started. The reason: the island is the key link of the Iranian oil sector. In a place in the gulf… Kharg Island is not exactly big. It measures 22 km2. What it does not have in surface area, however, it makes up for with its location. Located just 25 km from the Iranian continental coast and a few hundred kilometers from Strait of Hormuzis a strategic point for the global oil industry. The reason: that tiny island channels almost all of the crude oil exported by Iran. And those are big words if we take into account that, according to OPEC calculations, it is estimated that the Islamic Republic has confirmed reserves of 208.6 billion barrelsalmost the 12% of the total world. Is it that important? Yes. Iran enjoys a strategic position that (among other things) allows it to control the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic point for the commercialization of Middle East oil. In fact, it is estimated that almost a fifth of the world’s crude oil and gas pass through that narrow strip of a few tens of kilometers. However, not all are advantages for Tehran. Most of the Iranian coastline is bathed by shallow waters that complicate the movement of oil tankers. To operate with them, companies need to rely on Khrag, an island equipped with deeper docks and which since the 60s has had a powerful infrastructure built with the help of the firm. Amoco. Today it is the largest terminal exporter of the country. A percentage: 90%. Kharg’s role is best understood by dealing with various data. The main one is the volume of merchandise that it channels. It is estimated that almost 90% of Iranian oil exports pass through there, a bottleneck through which black gold flows before being shipped to the Strait of Hormuz. It may seem like an exorbitant percentage, but the island has the necessary infrastructure to charge seven million of barrels daily. Added to this are underwater pipelines connected to the country’s oil fields, storage tanks and housing for the complex’s operators. In the spotlight. Khrag has become the key link in the Iranian oil trade, but it also represents a kind of ‘Achilles heel’. Hitting the island means hitting the Iranian oil industry squarely. It’s nothing new. In the 80s Kharg has already suffered Iraqi bombings. The big question on March 9, 2026, with the US and Israel attacking the Islamic Republic is… Does Washington have any plan that involves controlling the island in one way or another? It is not a whimsical question. The Israeli army already has attacked several crude oil deposits and an oil transfer center located in Tehran and Alborz. The Axios weekend wakefulness In addition, Israel and the US have discussed sending special forces to Iran for various purposes: the main one would be to secure uranium reserves, but Kharg would also be in their sights. Ground operation? However, it is one thing to attack oil deposits and another to invade the island. For a start, remembers CNBCbecause it would require going one step further in the offensive in Iran and undertaking a ground operation. A hypothetical attack could also add more volatility and uncertainty to the industry at a time when a barrel of oil has risen to around $100. In the last hours the Brent even it touched 120. Cutting off the tap. The maneuver would also have advantages for Washington and Tel Aviv, especially when it comes to putting pressure on Tehran. Petras Katinas, an expert in energy and defense, recalls that if the United States controlled the island it could cut off “the oil livelihood” of the Iranian regime. “Looking ahead, confiscation would give the US leverage during negotiations, regardless of which regime is in power once the military operation ends,” insist. “It would deal a severe blow to the regime, since it would deprive it of a crucial source of income,” adds Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM, who draws a parallel between what happened in Iran and the US intervention in Venezuela. in january. Why doesn’t the US act? For several reasons. We mentioned two (fundamental) before. Experts point out that taking Kharg would require a ground operation. And that, among other issues, could lead to even more instability in the region and the oil market at a delicate time. “Kharg could focus a multi-week attack campaign with Iranian drones and the island has mines and soldiers,” remember Marc Gustafson, who warns that an intervention of this type would not be without risks for the United States. He even mentions the possibility that, if the situation escalates, Iran will destroy its oil pipelines. One island, many drifts. If the US and Israel decide to comply with Kharg, Tehran could also see legitimacy to hit the oil infrastructure of other Gulf countries. That’s not counting, insists Michael Doran (from the Hudson Institute) in that it could complicate the post-war Iranian economy and the stability of any new government that takes the reins of Iran once the war ends. Images | Google Earth and Wikipedia In Xataka | Satellite images have revealed that Iran knocked down four of the US’s eight unique defense systems. If they reach zero a new war begins

The ruins of a temple located in the Andes can rewrite the history of a forgotten pre -Hispanic civilization

June 28, 2025 by usatoday24

It is possible that the name Tiwanaku does not sound too much. It is not among the great most famous pre -Hispanic civilizations such as the Incas, Aztecs or Maya. However, this missing society before Europeans arrived in the South American continent reached unique dominance of their surroundings. The last discovery is proof of this. More than 200 kilometers. A team of researchers has documented A temple built by the civilization of Tiwanaku. This temple was found about 210 kilometers south of the power center of this civilization which allows us to better understand the geographical extension of the domain of this pre -Columbian culture. The state of Tiwanaku. There is little we know today about Tiwanaku. This civilization would have emerged south of Lake Titicaca, in what is now Bolivia. Tiwanaku would have managed to be one of the most powerful civilizations on the continent, but disappeared around the year 1000 of our era,, giving rise to the arrival of the Incas that would dominate the region five centuries later. This civilization would have achieved, Explain the responsible team of the new discovery, an advanced social structure and left behind traces of its architecture in the form of pyramids, staggered temples and monoliths, distributed in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca. However, delimiting the area of influence of Tiwanaku is difficult among those who study this civilization. The last discovery can be helpful. The Palaspata temple. The site was baptized as the Palaspata temple in reference to the name by which the natives call in the area. As described, these ruins show a rectangular complex with 125 meters long and 145 wide. I would have had 15 quadrangular enclosures and an inner courtyard. The temple disposition would not have been random since it is aligned with the equinox. In the enclosure, fragments of Keru glasses were found, which were used for chicha consumption, a corn beer. Corn is not a local crop so The team considers that Palaspata’s environment would have been a commercial node in the Tiwanaku civilization. Combining techniques. To study the diffuse brands left by the old temple the team had to combine different satellite images, images that combined with those taken by drones with those who fly over the site. They also resorted to the photogrammetry technique, that is, three -dimensional reconstruction from multiple photographs. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Antiquity. Recycling the stones. Although we have just discovered the nature of this archaeological site, the environment was well known by local people. In fact, some of the stones and artifacts that constituted this temple had been “recycled” by local farmers in their own constructions. A triple border. Palaspata’s significance lies in its location as we indicated at the beginning, a “strategic” location for those responsible for the finding. This area, they explain, connected three of the main trade routes that communicated three valleys with two ecosystems: the high and fertile lands next to Lake Titicaca; The Andean Altiplano, livestock zone where the flames grew; and the Andean valleys east of Cochabamba, another agrarian region. In Xataka | We have found 21 human remains of 6,000 years ago in Colombia. They do not look like any current living population Image | José Capriles / Penn State

The US has detected an object in space with strange behavior. The source that released it has also located: Russia

April 9, 2025 by usatoday24

Last year there was a fact that formalized the rhetoric of the “spatial war” It was a fact. It was known, in some cases it was intuited, that the United States, Russia and China had transferred their confrontations hundreds of kilometers from the earth through their satellites. However, in December any glimpse of doubt was cleared: United States He designed the bases of a war attack in space. Now they have detected something unusual, and their source comes from Moscow. First was surveillance. In March, The CNN counted that the Pentagon had intensified the surveillance of the spatial activities of Russia and China in the face of growing evidence that both powers are testing New capabilities Offensive in orbit. As American defense officials then said, Russia had carried out coordinated satellite exercises that simulate attack and defense tactics, including maneuvers in which several satellites surround and isolate another, demonstrating a possible scenario of neutralization of enemy ships. China, meanwhile, had executed similar maneuversincluding the closed formation of satellites and offensive approach practices, actions that reinforce suspicions about the growing militarization of outer space. Three satellites and a stranger. Thus we arrive at the news of these days. Russia has launched space three highly secret satellites (Kosmos 2581, 2582 and 2583) that have revived concerns about a possible preparation for space war. On February 2, the satellites were sent to orbit aboard a Soyuz rocket, without Moscow revealing details about their purpose. Not just that. To the unusual maneuvers they have performed since their deployment, the recent appearance of A mysterious objectpossibly released by the Kosmos 2583 satellite on March 18, whose strange draw Observe with concern. The United States’s space force has already cataloged the new object, while some speculation suggests that these satellites could be practicing “attack and defense” tactics orbital, designed to isolate or neutralize enemy satellites in case of a future conflict. Trajectory of the object detected Theories Although astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, from Harvard-Smithsonian Center, nuanced interpretations Alarmists when considering that the observed maneuvers can simply be due to similar orbits, recent history also reinforces skepticism. In 2022, Russia had already launched the Kosmos 2558 in the same orbital trajectory as an American military satellite, which was interpreted as an act of spatial espionage. The geopolitical context and the background of the Kremlin in the matter of covert technologies They raise suspicions that this new satellite trio may be carrying out surveillance missions, interception or testing tests Antisatellite technologiesalthough for now there are no conclusive evidence of hostile actions. The “conquest” of space. We said it at the beginning. The maneuvers attributed to satellites Kosmos 2581-2583 They are framed in a broader scenario in which both Russia and China would be exploring New combat capabilities orbital. The Recent CNN reports They quote officials of the United States Department of Defense, who say that both countries are carrying out military training in low orbits, a key zone for their proximity to land and its frequent use for communication, recognition and intelligence satellites. This trend reinforces the fear that space will be consolidated as a new confrontation field Strategic, one where powers develop technologies to deactivate, interfere or even destroy enemy space assets. Uncertainty and surveillance. So far we write, the nature or function of the object released in March has not been determined with certainty, which increases the tension around this satellite trio. McDowell explained That between February 25 and March 14, proximity operations were registered between the satellites, and that two of them passed near Kosmos 2583 on March 7, although it could not be confirmed if there was an attempt at offensive coordination. Even so, the US spatial force maintains close surveillance on the orbital movements and patterns of these artifacts, given the possibility that it is covert tests of new military capacities in space, a dimension that is no longer purely scientific or commercial, but also tactic. The challenge of “interpreting.” In the background, a problem that until now had not taken place in space, that of the opacity of the nations with respect to the missions of their satellites and the repeated use of covert technologies in their space operations that make it difficult to obtain certainty. In an environment where the simple fact of sharing orbits or making approaches between satellites can have both harmless and aggressive aims, analysts, in this case of the United States, must move between caution and prevention. As We already explainedwhile the calls multiply to establish clear international standards on behavior in space, Washington and its allies already consider spatial domain as a Active strategic theaterand each new mysterious object, such as the newly released by Kosmos 2583, adds one more tension layer to technological and military rivalry in orbit. Image | POT In Xataka | The space is no longer a two thing with the arrival of China, so the US has devised a war plan just in case: “Space fire” In Xataka | Satellites with missiles from Earth is ended up: the United States takes the first step to end the practice

Before being from Spain, Madrid was the unlikely capital of another kingdom located thousands of kilometers: Armenia

March 30, 2025 by usatoday24

TO Leon v History played a bad pass. And that, by Carambolas of Historyended up turning Madrid into the capital of a kingdom located more than 3,000 kilometers away, south of what is today Türkiye. Sounds crazy, but if something is the story of León V (1342-1393), the king without the kingdom, stripped of his crown just a few months after ascending to the throne of The little ArmenianIt is precisely that: strange. After all, in just a few years he went from monarch to reo, from reo to “Mayor” of Madrid and finally lord of a French castle. To know its history we must go back to the Middle Ages and travel to the Anatolia Peninsula. There, in the region of CILICIA The XI and XIV centuries extended Little Armenianor Armenia Cilicia, a kingdom formed by refugees who had fled from the Selyuk invasion of Armenia. It was not particularly large, but a prominent role as an ally of the Crusaders and Christian bastion was played. León V (the brief and insistent) Or so it was at least until the time of his last sovereign, Leon V of Armeniawho barely had time to accommodate on the throne. The unfortunate was crowned in SIS in September 1374but just a few months later, in 1375he saw how the Egyptian Mamlucos took the capital. For him it was the end of his days (few) of glory. From the amenities of the court he became a prisoner in Cairo. There León spent a year, two, three, four … and so up to seven long springs deprived of liberty, during which lost his wife and daughterwaiting for some sovereign of Christianity to get close to their bad luck and pay their rescue. Little served. It did not matter to appeal to the charity of other kings or the church. The fate of León V only changed thanks to the mediation of the Franciscan Juan Dardel, who knew how to press the right rope with the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It is said that the situation of León v moved enough to Juan I of Castilla as if to decide to intermediate in favor of the former sovereign of the little Armenian. The truth is that in 1382after seven years of captivity, León V regained his freedom and abandoned Cairo. What could a King do without the kingdom? What would time dedicate a monarch to whom he had given time to savor the throne of the throne? León had no doubt. He wanted to recover his crown. And for this purpose he undertook an international campaign in search of support. That long journey ended up taking him to the Iberian Peninsula. More specifically to Badajoz, where he met the hospitality of Juan I. upon his arrival León V met with Honors and gifts Gold, silks and jewelry, but not what I was looking for: help to recover the throne of SIS. Instead, the Castilian monarch offered him a curious (and generous) entertainment: he granted to the sovereign of Cilicia the manors of Madrid, Andújar and Villareal (Ciudad Real) “with all his breasts and rights and income.” As if that were not enough, he added an annual income of 150,000 maravedíes. So and against every forecast León became a tenant of the Real Alcázar de Madridconferring on the villa a new (and unlikely) range: The informal capital of the small Armenian. After all, the heart of a kingdom was where its cut settled. There was even more than a century and a half so that, in 1561Felipe II set his in Madrid, turning her into the capital of her domains. One thing was, however, the good harmony that Juan I and León could have and another very different than the Madrid were funny to be under the government of a foreign man who did not know and that nothing knew about his land. We know it because the anger of the town soon inspired some scathing and sharp coplillas On the Armenian sovereign, like the one he cried: “If the town was Silva, the lion would keep it, more is Castilian land, we do not want such a lord.” “They say that a Lord comes from Armenia, guide us God of such real favor,” he proclaimed Another of the topics that were singing on the banks of Manzanares. It was little for León to try to win the favor of the people down or send Real Alcázar. Juan I soon made it clear that the assignment of the villas was a timely gesture limited to the ancient Armenian sovereign, so that the title would not pass to his heirs. After the arrival on the throne of Juan I’s son, Enrique IIIthat link between Castilla and the Armenian It would blur even more. The reality is that León’s main interest seemed to be far from Manzanares, Castilla or the Iberian Peninsula. Although a few years had passed since his departure from SIS and despite his years of captivity in Cairo, there was an idea that was still obsessing León V: recover his kingdom. That was his great goal. From Madrid I had it difficult, so Leon soon packaging his things and going first to Navarra and later to France, where he received a not very different response to that of Juan I of Castilla. Carlos VI dedicated Good wordsostentatious gifts that included the assignment of the castle of Saint-Ouen … but nothing that allowed him to head an offensive that returned it to the court of SIS. The sovereign ended up dying some time later, in 1393, with about 51 years, without having reached his dream. In Paris he died. And in Paris he was buried. Before, yes, he wrote one of the most curious chapters in the history of Madrid, a city that over the centuries left him a peculiar and fortuitous? Tribute: His memory is linked mainly to the old Alcazar, where León lived several months Between 1383 and 1384. Armenia are far … Read more

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