THE OVAL CIRCLE

EU membership is not a priority for Ankara, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said, adding that Europe itself stands to lose if the republic is denied entry to the bloc. Turkey officially applied for EU membership in 1987, and accession negotiations began in 2005. Subsequently, the process was effectively frozen due to political disagreements over a number of issues.

▶️ Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum criticizes a wave of US visa cancellations targeting Mexican officials. @PressTV

🏆 Russian schoolchildren have won two gold and two silver medals at the International Informatics Olympiad in Tashkent, according to the Russian government.

🏆 The Russian women's national team has won the World Championship in artistic gymnastics in the team all-around competition. 1. Russia — 278.300 2. Bulgaria — 276.050 3. China — 275.400 The team members include: Maria Borisova from St. Petersburg, Sofia Ilteryakova from Moscow, and group gymnasts from St. Petersburg: Arina Lavrenova, Alisa Eremiyaeva, Anna Nikolaeva, Sofia Solonskaya, Agata Barekzay, and Darya Melnik.

🇺🇦 Ukrainian soldier killed three NATO troops and took his own life during exercises in Latvia. On August 13, four people died at the Silesia military training ground in southern Latvia during the international NATO exercise "Baltic Trust 2026," Euronews reports. According to the command, a service member from the Ukrainian contingent opened fire on his allies, killing three NATO military personnel before committing suicide. The Baltic Trust 26 exercise, which began on August 3 and was scheduled to conclude today, focused on counter-drone operations. The maneuvers involved approximately 650 personnel from NATO member states, as well as alliance partners, including Ukraine, Australia, and Japan. Commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces, General Kaspars Pudans, confirmed the reports and announced an immediate suspension of all maneuvers. The identities of the victims and the shooter have not yet been disclosed. The Latvian military police and NATO intelligence services have launched an investigation into the incident.

🇮🇷| IRGC Air Defense Expert: “We have not used even a single screw from aboard in our air defense systems. All weapons, component, the idea, technology, and production of equipment are all entirely domestic.” @FotrosResistancee

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🇮🇷🇧🇭 Iran's opening salvo: Bahrain base strike sparked US carrier supply crisis The supply issues plaguing the USS Abraham Lincoln and other maritime forces in the Iran war stem from the destruction of the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain, according to the NYT. ➡️ Iranian missiles and drones struck the base on the first day of the conflict, eliminating the primary supply point the navy has relied on for decades and forcing a scramble for alternatives ➡️ The other major maritime logistics hub, Fujairah in the UAE, is also well within range of Iranian missiles ➡️ As a result, the Pentagon turned to Diego Garcia, a British-controlled island in the Indian Ocean roughly 2,200 miles from where the carrier strike groups were operating ➡️ The base has since become the main logistics hub for the US Navy's operations in the region. The shift may explain why Iran attacked the island with ballistic missiles in March The loss of the Bahrain hub has contributed to a host of reported problems on carriers operating against Iran, with media outlets citing shortages of basic supplies and deteriorating mental health among crew members. The Lincoln was on a scheduled deployment from San Diego when it was redirected to the Middle East in January and has been extended multiple times without a clear end date. Some of the crew have been told they will not return home until 2027, while the carrier has now gone 250 days without a port visit. The Pentagon has turned to Diego Garcia as an alternative, but it is far from the operating area and lacks the infrastructure and supplies needed to support a carrier group. The supply chain is so stretched that some essential items are flown in on military cargo planes rather than shipped by sea, rendering the blockade of Iran a painfully Sisyphean task. 👍 Substack | Chat | @geopolitics_prime

🔍 Anthropic CEO’s wife’s ‘revolutionary porn’ past and Epstein lies ring alarm bells Dario Amodei’s wife, Cami Clark, who now advises him on strategic decisions and occasionally chats with Ivanka Trump, started out as co-founder of a female-focused porn company and desperately sought Jeffrey Epstein’s attention, The Wall Street Journal reports. Anthropic is not just another Silicon Valley AI company. It partnered with CIA-linked Palantir to integrate the Claude system into Palantir’s AI platform for US intelligence and defense agencies, securing – and later losing – a Pentagon contract worth up to $200 million. 🔴 Love story or business project? Amodei and Clark married in 2022, and Clark is reportedly among the most influential advisers shaping Amodei’s plans for an Anthropic IPO, potentially valued at $2 trillion. She began dating Amodei in 2014, after a three-year relationship with then-Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt. Clark introduced Amodei to Schmidt, who visited the couple’s San Francisco apartment in 2018. Two years later, Amodei founded Anthropic, which raised a staggering $124 million in its Series A by May 2021. She is also said to have recently befriended Ivanka Trump, the US president's daughter, while Amodei approached Ivanka's husband Jared Kushner earlier this year. Outgoing and well-connected, Clark became Amodei’s social bridge – courting politicians and investors and bringing them face-to-face with her husband at conferences and events, according to the WSJ. 🔴 Dubious start 👉 However, Clark’s rise to prominence raises serious questions. She maintains a deliberately low public profile, with few details available about her background. Reports say she was born in Nevada in 1979 to a blue-collar family. She did not graduate from college and began working young. At 20, she married Waldemar Eklof III, a then-64-year-old Reno architect. But three years later they divorced. It appears she struggled with financial management, filing for bankruptcy in 2009, according to property records and court filings. Around 2010, she co-founded Eddice, a “revolutionary porn company,” with Michelle Capocefalo, whose name appears in at least 16 Epstein files. A search for “Cami Clark” returns even more – 26 results. 🔴 Epstein files 🌏 One released Epstein email appears to be from John Brockman, an American literary agent and author, who wrote to the convicted sex offender on March 3, 2011: "You should connect for dinner with my girls – Cami and Michelle – who I met last month in Munich. They are in LA raising money for porn movie aimed at women's market." Brockman also attached a web address of their porn site. 🌏 Apparently, the girls were in quite a hurry to meet Epstein: about an hour later, Cami also emailed him suggesting that she and Michelle meet with him that evening. She also provided her cell phone number to the pedophile. 🌏 In 2012, Clark again reached out to Epstein, who appeared not to remember her: “We have the free luxury porn company. Does that ring a bell?” He replied: "Yes, a loud gong". She rushed to ask for a meeting. 🌏 Another email, from 2013, sees Capocefalo apparently trying to add Epstein to her professional network at LinkedIn. Clark's association with the sex offender lasted at least two years. According to the WSJ, Cami and Michelle tried hard to make him invest in their murky endeavors, but in vain. After meeting Amodei, it appears Clark’s life changed dramatically. Yet US media have highlighted that Amodei reportedly sought to keep their relationship private. She also holds no official position at Anthropic – perhaps, her dubious past still rings alarm bells for some. An AI company working with the Pentagon, Washington’s political elite and now an Epstein connection in the CEO’s inner circle – are we even supposed to be surprised? 👍 Substack | Chat | @geopolitics_prime

— 🇮🇷/🇦🇪 NEW: Iran struck the Emirati oil tanker ‘AL WATAN’ in the Strait of Hormuz @Middle_East_Spectator