Σε κλειδί των εξελίξεων ενός τόσο μεγάλου πολέμου, όπως αυτός στη Μέση Ανατολή, αναδεικνύονται τα Στενά του Ορμούζ, ένα πέρασμα 35 μόλις χιλιομέτρων, από το οποίο ωστόσο περνά το 20% περίπου του πετρελαίου που διακινείται από τη θάλασσα. Οι εξαγωγές όχι μόνο του Ιράν – και αυτό είναι το σημαντικό – αλλά σχεδόν όλων των κρατών του Κόλπου περνούν από τα Στενά του Ορμούζ και φαίνεται ότι οι Αμερικανοί για κάποιον λόγο που θα χαρακτηριζόταν έως και περίεργος, δεν είχαν υπολογίσει πόσο μεγάλη άνοδο στις τιμές πετρελαίου και πόσο μεγάλη αναταραχή θα μπορούσε να φέρει, ουσιαστικά το ντεφάκτο κλείσιμο τους από τους Ιρανούς, όπως σημειώνει ο διπλωματικός συντάκτης του ΕΡΤnews, Πιέρρος Τζανετάκος. Ο έλεγχος των Στενών εξελίσσεται πλέον σε κλειδί, αφότου ο Ντόναλντ Τράμπ προσπαθεί να εμπλέξει τους Ευρωπαίους και το ΝΑΤΟ στην περιοχή και να αποτυγχάνει. Η γερμανική ηγεσία το είπε με τον πιο καθαρό τρόπο, ρωτώντας ουσιαστικά: «Από τη στιγμή που δεν μπορεί το αμερικανικό ναυτικό να ελέγξει τα Στενά, πώς θα βοηθήσουν οι Ευρωπαίοι;». Πρόκειται για μια τοποθεσία που είναι πολύ εύκολο να εγκλωβιστούν οποιεσδήποτε ναυτικές δυνάμεις, με τους Ιρανούς να έχουν διάφορους τρόπους να χτυπούν. Επιπλέον, έρχεται στην επιφάνεια για ακόμα μια φορά και το ρήγμα εντός της Δυτικής συμμαχίας. Αλλά το σημαντικό είναι το αν, πότε και με ποιο τρόπο θα ελεγχθούν τα Στενά, καθώς όπως επισημαίνει ο Πιέρρος Τζανετάκος, από αυτό θα κριθεί πρώτα η διάρκεια του πολέμου και ενδεχομένως στη συνέχεια, και η έκβασή του. Δείτε περισσότερα στο ertflix.gr | Ακούστε περισσότερα στο ertecho.gr www.ertnews.gr

Ακινητοποιημένοι βρίσκονται 85 Έλληνες ναυτικοί σε δέκα ελληνικά πλοία, δεξαμενόπλοια και φορτηγά μέσα στον Περσικό Κόλπο, βορειοδυτικά του Ντουμπάι, σε ασφαλή αγκυροβόλια, ενώ ένα πλοίο βρίσκεται εκτός του Περσικού Κόλπου, στο λιμάνι Μουσκάτ. Ακόμη 33 πλοία ελληνικής σημαίας παραμένουν σε κατάσταση αναμονής στην Ερυθρά Θάλασσα, στον Κόλπο του Ομάν και στην Αραβική Θάλασσα, ενώ συνολικά στην ευρύτερη θαλάσσια περιοχή βρίσκονται 158 πλοία ελληνικών συμφερόντων. Η κλιμάκωση των εχθροπραξιών κρατάει τα πλοία αυτά ακινητοποιημένα, με τα πληρώματα τους να βρίσκονται σε διαρκή εγρήγορση και να τηρούν αυστηρά πρωτόκολλα ασφαλείας. Η επικοινωνία που γίνεται από το Υπουργείο Ναυτιλίας και τον θάλαμο επιχειρήσεων με τα πληρώματα είναι καθημερινή και γίνεται τόσο τηλεφωνικά μέσω δορυφόρων όσο και με e-mail, για την ακριβή θέση των πλοίων, ενδεχόμενη αλλαγή στις συνθήκες ή κάποιο πρόβλημα. Μέχρι στιγμής πάντως δεν έχει γίνει κανένα αίτημα για αποχώρηση, απομάκρυνση από την περιοχή και επαναπατρισμό κάποιου Έλληνα ναυτικού. Ρεπορτάζ: Χαρά Γιαννοπούλου Δείτε περισσότερα στο ertflix.gr | Ακούστε περισσότερα στο ertecho.gr www.ertnews.gr

“Greece is not going to participate in any operation around the theater of current operations and I doubt that there is much European appetite for such a mission right now,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday, during a discussion with journalist Francine Lacqua at the Bloomberg conference “Greek Energy: The new Era” in Athens. […] The post : “Greece will not engage in any military activity in the Middle East” appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

Greece is moving forward with the acquisition of Israeli air defense systems as part of the country’s Achilles Shield project Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post has confirmed. A Greek parliamentary committee approved the purchase of a €3 billion multi-layer air and drone defence system and the upgrade of 38 F-16 fighter jets, with […] The post Greece moves ahead with Israeli air defense systems acquisition appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

Klepths of the Greek revolution. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. By the time the flames of the Greek revolution swept through the Peloponnese in 1821, Panagiotis “Mitropetrovas” had already lived a life more perilous and storied than most men could imagine. Yet it was not until the age when many retreat into quiet retirement that he truly became immortal. At nearly 70 years old, he joined the ranks of those who would liberate a nation—fighting not just with sword and musket, but with the weight of ancestral courage and unshakable faith in freedom. A life forged in the shadow of an empire Born in 1745 in the rugged Mani region of southern Greece, Mitropetrovas was raised in an environment where resistance was not an option, but a way of life. Mani was never fully subdued by the Ottomans. Its jagged mountains and fiercely independent clans preserved a spirit of liberty that burned through generations. It was in this crucible of autonomy, vendetta, and honor that young Panagiotis was shaped. Mitropetrovas was a sworn blood brother and comrade-in-arms of Theodoros Kolokotronis’ father, Konstantis. After the murder of Konstantinos (Konstantis) Kolokotronis in 1785, Mitropetrovas assumed the guardianship of the young Theodoros Kolokotronis. He was bound by ties of brotherhood and long-standing friendship with the Kolokotronis family. He also became his first teacher in the art of war and supported him in every possible way when the Revolution was declared. A portrait of Panagiotis Mitropetrovas, the Nestor of the Greek revolution. Credit: Public Domain In 1819, Mitropetrovas was initiated into the Filiki Eteria by Kyriakos Kamarinos. Τwo years later, at the age of 76, he participated in the liberation of Kalamata. The old Nestor fought with his own fighting force (askeri) on March 23, 1821, at the outbreak of the Revolution. He entered Kalamata almost ahead of Theodoros Kolokotronis, Papaflessas, Nikitaras, Petrobeys Mavromichalis, Anagnostaras and other fighters. He then advanced into northern Messenia, where he dismantled the Ottoman authorities. Afterwards, he followed Theodoros Kolokotronis in the military operations in Arcadia and, despite his advanced age, took part in the crucial Battle of Valtetsi in May 1821. There, he led the warriors from Androusa and Leontari. They had taken up a position at the western bastion of the Greek camp alongside Ioannis Mavromichalis, P. Kefalas and Papatsonis. The old man and the war By the turn of the 19th century, Mitropetrovas had already taken part in revolts and skirmishes. He had served under the banner of pre-revolutionary fighters and klephts. The klephts were mountain outlaws who became the mythic forerunners of the revolution. He had faced not only the Turks but also local tyranny and foreign schemes. Mitropetrovas eventually developed a cunning strategic mind tempered by decades of experience. When the call to arms came in 1821, the old man did not hesitate. His age—already advanced by the standards of the day—was no deterrent. If anything, it was a weapon. Mitropetrovas was famous across Messenia and Laconia, not just as a seasoned warrior but as a living symbol of continuity, connecting the younger fighters of the revolution with the legacy of earlier, failed revolts. He quickly became a commander in the Peloponnesian theater, fighting in key battles such as the siege of Kalamata and later contributing to the siege of Tripolitsa, where the Ottomans suffered one of their most decisive defeats. His presence was not simply military; it was moral. He was the Nestor of the revolution, named after the wise old king of Pylos in Homer’s Iliad—a counselor and elder whose words carried the weight of ancestral memory. Mitropetrovas did not speak in the polished diction of the Western-educated leaders, nor did he write manifestos. But when he took to the field, younger men followed. When he raised his voice in council, it was not ignored. His authority was born of scars and victories, not rhetoric. The Siege of Tripolitsa. Credit: Public Domain Between glory and disillusion Like many of the revolution’s early heroes, Mitropetrovas would find that the path from battlefield glory to peacetime justice was fraught with betrayal. He stood opposed to the authoritarian tendencies of some post-independence governments. Particularly he opposed King Otto, whom he viewed along with the Bavarians as the new conquerors who had betrayed the revolution’s struggle for freedom. After the end of the Revolution and the creation of the modern Greek state, many Messenian chieftains—outraged by the sentencing of Kolokotronis and Plapoutas to death—expressed deep hatred and hostility toward the Bavarian regime and the Bavarian Regency. Those who had fought for the liberation of the homeland now found themselves marginalized. The monarchy excluded them from the army, which the Regency formed from Bavarian mercenaries. The chieftains declared an uprising on July 7, 1834, in Mani, and in August in Messenia.  The leaders of the uprising were Captain Gritzalis—Mitropetrovas’ son-in-law—and Mitropetrovas himself. “We have decided to reclaim our political rights by force, the only and final means left to secure justice for the oppressed people.” This was the statement made by the revolutionary veterans of 1821 against Otto’s Regency in the summer of 1834. The Bavarian authorities would later arrest Mitropetrovas alongside Gritzalis, and imprison him for his defiance during the anti-Ottonian uprisings. A bitter reward for a man who had given the best years of his twilight to the dream of Greek freedom. Yet even in disgrace, he remained dignified. He died in 1838, at the remarkable age of 93, not broken, but burnished by history. An old Greek hero who would be no slave to the conquerors or tyrants of his fatherland. Theodoros Kolokotronis. Public Domain A symbol of endurance Today, people remember Mitropetrovas less than the fiery orators or the dashing generals of the Greek Revolution. But his story holds something deeper: a reminder that revolutions are not only born in the minds of the young, but also in the lived wisdom of the old. In an age that often discards the elderly, he stands as a defiant counterexample. He was a man who proved that age is no barrier when the cause is just and the heart unwavering. Mitropetrovas was not just a warrior. He was a walking bridge between centuries of resistance and a new age of nationhood. In the figure of Mitropetrovas, the Greek people did not merely find a soldier. They found a patriarch, a Nestor, and a quiet, enduring hero who kneeled to no conqueror until the end of his long life.

Greece has approved a €4 billion upgrade plan that includes Achilles Shield, 38 F-16 fighter jet, MEKO 200 frigate modernization. Credit: Hellenic Air Force A Greek parliamentary committee has approved a defense package worth about €4 billion ($ 4.6 billion), clearing the way for Greece to deploy a new multi-layer air and drone defense system, upgrade 38 additional F-16 fighter jets, modernize naval assets, and support military transport aircraft. The committee gave its approval during a closed-door parliamentary session on Monday, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The decision marks another major step in Athens’ long-term effort to strengthen military capabilities across multiple branches of the armed forces. Achilles Shield becomes the centerpiece The largest part of the package is the planned acquisition of a new air and drone defense network known as Achilles Shield, with an estimated cost of around €3 billion ($3.4 billion). Greece is already in talks with Israel, which is expected to provide a significant share of the missile systems required for the project. The shield will create a layered defensive umbrella against a range of aerial threats and reflects the growing importance of integrated air defense systems in the region. Greece pushes ahead with wider defense spending and F-16 upgrade plan The new package forms part of Greece’s broader defense plan. The government has said it aims to spend around €28 billion ($32 billion) by 2036 to modernize the armed forces. Athens is pursuing that strategy as the country continues to recover from the effects of the 2009–2018 debt crisis and tries to maintain military readiness. Before the package can move forward fully, it must still receive approval from the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence, known as KYSEA, Greece’s top decision-making body on foreign affairs and defense matters. F-16 upgrade plan advances with 38 more jets The parliamentary committee also approved the modernization of 38 F-16 Block 50 aircraft, a program estimated at about €1 billion ($1.15 billion). These jets date back to the 1990s and will be upgraded to the more advanced Viper configuration. Greece currently operates a fleet of about 150 F-16s and has already upgraded roughly forty aircraft, making this the next phase in a broader effort to modernize its fighter fleet. Frigates and transport aircraft also included The same parliamentary session also cleared the way for the upgrade of four older MEKO 200 frigates, German-designed multipurpose warships that remain a core part of the Hellenic Navy’s surface fleet. Lawmakers also approved a maintenance agreement for C29J military transport aircraft, broadening the scope of the package beyond missile defense and fighter aviation.

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