Adam Nathan

media and communications

[Adam Nathan @adamgnathan]

#ukdefence

[SPRAVDI — Stratcom Centre @StratcomCentre]

Increasingly frantic statements from the Russian dictator following the humiliating parade experience – now admitting that he started the war in Ukraine to punish them for their desire to join the EU and that he intends to do the same to Armenia.

[Adam Nathan @adamgnathan]

It’s good to see a club keeping faith in a talented manager during the near-misses; keeping financial balance (top with fourth largest wage bill); and building a squad so that hugely capable players can come off the bench and make a big difference as Odegaard did against West Ham

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Will Arsenal be worthy champions if they get over the line? There is plenty of criticism of Arsenal's football, the set-piece arts/dark arts, the antics of Arteta in the technical area, and triumphalism of some fans such as the one with that presumptuous “champions” shirt. Throw in the usual club tribalism and that season-defining VAR decision (correct call but officials inconsistent in punishing grappling this season) and there’s plenty of antipathy towards Arsenal.

But it is a truism universally acknowledged that the team that finish top first are worthy champions. It’s a marathon of 38 sprints and Arsenal have demonstrated the required ability, character and stamina. They have had their mentality questioned all season (and before). From Raya to Rice, Gabriel to Gyokeres, all of the squad have shown resilience. Battlers, not bottlers. Rice in particular embodies their will to win.

It’s good to see a club keeping faith in a talented manager during the near-misses; keeping financial balance (top with fourth largest wage bill); and building a squad so that hugely capable players can come off the bench and make a big difference as Odegaard did against West Ham. And isn’t it more refreshing to see a range of champions (if they do hold on)? Five different clubs have been champions since Arsenal in 2004.

It’s also important to see a club committed to their academy, creating a pathway for Saka, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman and others, and giving them a chance to shine; it’s good for sustainability, culture and connection with fans. It’s encouraging to see a club working with fans to improve atmosphere (tifos, coach greets). 

Off-field, too. All clubs have vital community departments; Arsenal in the Community is widely acknowledged as the oldest and one of the most impactful at home and abroad with around 100 full-time and part-time staff. There is much good about Arsenal. If they do hold on, Arsenal will be worthy champions on and off the pitch. #AFC

[Barak Ravid @BarakRavid]

SCOOP: The White House believes it's getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations. My story on @axios
https://t.co/Tyse6wWTSj

[Arab News @arabnews]

#BREAKING: Trump: If Iran doesn't agree, the bombing will escalate to a much higher level https://t.co/Il7QsmLt9i

[Patrick Tucker @DefTechPat]

Scoop: The former head of Defense Department’s Office of Net Assessment, often referred to as the “Pentagon’s Think Tank,” is joining AI company Anthropic as a “strategist-in-residence." My latest for @DefenseOne

[Nick Bryant @NickBryantNY]

“BBC News to bear the biggest cuts.” This is nuts. The news division is the backbone of the global brand.

[Press Gazette @pressgazette]

Gabriel Pogrund has been named editor of the Sunday Times investigations team Insight.

The expanded team also has two investigative correspondents and a deputy editor to come.

Sunday Times editor Ben Taylor said they are "committed to ambitious investigations"

[Iain Ballantyne @IBallantyn]

Once the UK Govt drank the elixir of drones - a way to do without those expensive Type 26 warships, their seemingly too-hard-to-recruit people and costly weapons - and the Ukrainians 'beat a navy without a navy', it seized upon the 'hybrid navy' as the latest 'silver bullet' to avoid boosting defence properly.

Yes, it is essential to have autonomous systems, but to reinforce the Royal Navy, not as a 'hybrid' means to dodge creating a proper fighting fleet. The Black Sea is not the Atlantic, a vast, mean treacherous ocean, and warships still matter. The Northern Fleet is the apex of Russian naval power, not a confined lesser force like the Black Sea Fleet. It is a tough mother that will eat you alive if it can.

Norway is to get five T26s in some kind of joint operational arrangement with UK, but what if its govt decides one day that it does not agree with our defence and foreign policy? No can play UK...you are on your own! UK govts must stop contracting out sovereign defence needs.

Six not eight RN T26s mean only two at sea at any one time and not until mid to late 2030s, if we are lucky. In war six is too few to sustain an effective presence in the Atlantic or absorb losses. Unless the UK thinks it can prevail with a tiny fleet too precious to deploy?

But, there are the five cheaper Type 31s? Not an ASW ship, no matter its virtues. Australia is buildingng 6 x T26s - plus will have 11 Mogami frigates - and Canada is building 15 x T26s. More than the UK, the nation that created the alleged world's supposed greatest ASW ship, the as yet not in service T26.

Until the UK Govt places an order for more T26s to replace those going to Norway then it is again failing on defence. The UK should actually build at least 12 T26s for the RN. And not just as a means to try and buy votes in Scotland with job creation, but because it is what the UK needs to be secure...and its navy needs a heck of a lot of other stuff too. Pronto.

Stop being so timid and pathetic on defence @GOVUK

[Sean Parnell @SeanParnellASW]

STATEMENT:

Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately.

On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy.

We wish him well in his future endeavors.

Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy.

[Barak Ravid @BarakRavid]

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇵🇰Vice President Vance's Pakistan trip has been put on hold as Iran's leadership remained divided over whether to participate in a new round of peace talks. My story on @axios
https://t.co/w2w7TVS0bu

[Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand]

Iran’s new national security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr's views "were so extreme that one of his subordinates—Qassem Soleimani, the notorious Quds Force leader later killed by the U.S.—temporarily quit in protest."

WSJ: Iran’s Regime Has Changed—for the Worse
The U.S.-Israeli attack fast-tracked the ascent of hard-liners and apocalyptic religious followers
https://t.co/uf1lyJAgbh

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Ukraine is victim of an unprovoked invasion by a barbaric totalitarian killing machine. And the VP of the USA says he’s proud not to be helping it. Immoral, callous charlatan. Let’s hope we never hear of him again after 2028.

[Bloomberg @business]

During an October call with Vladimir Putin, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban promised to help Russia "in any way” he can https://t.co/InkR1IB8U5

[Shehbaz Sharif @CMShehbaz]

Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future. To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks. Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture. We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region.

@realDonaldTrump
@JDVance
@SecRubio
@SteveWitkoff
@SEPeaceMissions
@drpezeshkian
@mb_ghalibaf
@araghchi

[Mark Urban @MarkUrban01]

Pakistan PM urges Trump to press pause. Just occasionally we get a glimpse of some real diplomacy going on here

[Ed Conway @EdConwaySky]

👀 Blimey
@energy_said (one of the smartest energy analysts around) calculates that if oil continues to be disrupted as it is today it "would push prices upwards by $1/bbl per day, until prices surpassed $250/bbl, while almost zeroing global GDP growth."
Totally catastrophic.

[Adam Nathan @adamgnathan]

Hormuz crisis

[Vali Nasr @vali_nasr]

Iran has asked for guarantees in any deal with US. Word is that Pakistan Foreign Minister is going to Beijing to get a guarantor for the potential deal. Likely that is Iran’s condition for talks with US. And FM would not be going to China without having floated the idea with both Washington and Beijing. No guarantees of China biting but Beijing is now the frontline in the diplomatic effort

[Richard Holmes 🕵🏻‍♂️ @Richard_AHolmes]

A wider view: 17 sanctioned Shadow Fleet vessels are currently sailing in and around UK waters.

An additional two sanctioned Russian-flagged tankers are also present.

While Moscow's illicit ships continue to pass through the Channel, some are avoiding UK waters and taking the longer route around the North of Scotland.

Plenty of targets for the UK to test its bold rhetoric against.
h/t @StarboardIntel

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

We have reached an important Arrangement between the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on defense cooperation. The document was signed ahead of our meeting with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. It lays the foundation for future contracts, technological cooperation, and investment. It also strengthens Ukraine’s international role as a security donor.

We are ready to share our expertise and systems with Saudi Arabia and to work together to strengthen the protection of lives. Now into the fifth year, Ukrainians are resisting the same kind of terrorist attacks – ballistic missiles and drones – that the Iranian regime is currently carrying out in the Middle East and the Gulf region. Saudi Arabia also has capabilities that are of interest to Ukraine, and this cooperation can be mutually beneficial.

We also discussed the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region as a whole, Russia’s assistance to the Iranian regime, developments in fuel markets, and potential energy cooperation.

Thank you for the meeting.

[Rym Momtaz ريم ممتاز (rmomtaz.bsky.social) @RymMomtaz]

If I’m not mistaken, Zelensky becomes the first western leader to visit the region during the war.

Very shrewd.