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Middle East war brings embassy closures and reopenings, Germany approves defense budget and Compact magazine ban is overturned

Middle East war brings embassy closures and reopenings, Germany approves defense budget and Compact magazine ban is overturned

Welcome to the new Alpine Security Monitor. This project is only in its pilot stage at present. However, you can sign up and subscribe for weekly updates on security and geopolitics as it concerns the Alpine region, namely Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland (ok, little Liechtenstein and Monaco too when merited).

Currently, three tiers of subscriptions are offered: the free version (sign up below), member and warrior, available already for those who might stumble onto this site as we test what works and what does not.

First the detritus of the Middle East conflict between Israel and Iran… 

TEHRAN, IRAN – Switzerland embassy in Tehran remains closed due to conflict with Israel

  • The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) announced the temporary closure of its embassy in Tehran last Friday due to "the highly unstable situation on the ground."
  • The Swiss Embassy in Tehran hosts the US Interests Section, the sole entity in Iran responsible for communication between the US State Department and the Islamic Republic since the hostile takeover of the US embassy in Tehran 45 years ago in 1979. In the announcement, the FDFA noted, "Switzerland is continuing to fulfil its protecting power mandate for the US in Iran through its good offices in agreement with both countries," adding, "Switzerland will continue to act as an intermediary transmitting communications between the US and Iran as and when both parties consider appropriate. The protecting power mandate can be fulfilled regardless of location. On behalf of the US authorities, the FDFA is continuing to keep US citizens in Iran informed of the risks and measures to be taken via the Foreign Interests Section website."
  • The Swiss Ambassador Nadine Oliveiri Lozano evacuated via Azerbaijan while five other employees left via Turkmenistan. The embassy is operating from Bern for the time being, Swissinfo reports.

 

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL – Swiss embassy in Israel reopens after two-week wartime closure

  • Swissinfo reports the Swiss Ambassador to Israel Simon Geissbbühler announced that Switzerland's embassy in Tel Aviv was open again and fully operational on X Wednesday after a two-week closure while Israel and Iran sent missiles flying into each other's territory.

 

TEHRAN, IRAN – Germany moves embassy staff out of Iran

  • The Times of Israel reports the German Embassy in Tehran has moved its staff out of the country.
  • However, the embassy remains operational and German citizens who remain in Iran can contact the embassy by phone.
  • The embassy will continue to advise those interested in leaving Iran how to do so over land.

 

And returning to the wider Alpine region…

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – Cabinet approves new budget with ramped up defense spending

  • Deutsche Welle and The New York Times report the German cabinet passed its draft budget for 2025 on Tuesday, which would see an increase in defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by next year and 5% or €152.8 billion ($177 billion) by 2029.
  • The announcement, which came hours before the NATO summit in The Hague kicked off, means Germany will rely heavily on borrowing to finance defense and much needed infrastructure updates.
  • Germany has been operating on a provisional budget since the start of the year due to the collapse of the previous government under Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the ensuing elections in February.

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – Government to fund 11,000 more military personnel positions

  • Reuters reports the German government has allocated funds to bring on 11,000 more people, including 10,000 soldiers and 1,000 civilian employees by year's end – a four percent increase in the annual budget.
  • The new positions will shore up the army, air force, navy and cyber forces.
  • While Germany's Ministry of Defense declined to comment, earlier this year Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the country needs up to 60,000 more troops to meet the latest NATO targets for weapons and personnel.

 

LEIPZIG, GERMANY – Court overturns ban on 'rightwing extremist' Compact magazine

  • The Guardian reports that a federal administrative court overturned a ban on the conspiracy theory-laden publication Compact magazine, its publisher and a production firm, Conspect Film, citing the country's basic law while acknowledging it had published "anticonstitutional" content.
  • The publication has strong ties to the far-right political party Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD), which praised the ruling. Compact editor-in-chief Jürgen Elsässer posted on X, "Sieg!" or "Victory!" Not subtle.
  • In overturning the ban, the court said it did "not yet" present a threat to the state. The country's previous Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had argued for the ban, stating the publication fomented "unspeakable" hatred of Jews, Muslims and foreigners.

 

PARIS, FRANCE – Syringe attacks against women strike victims across France at festival

  • CNN reports a nationwide street music festival, Fête de la Musique, in France became the scene of mass attacks against at least over 100 women by men armed with little more than syringes filled with unknown substances, according to police and a feminist influencer, Abrège Soeur, who was monitoring social media ahead of the incidents.
  • French police have detained more than two dozen men between the ages of 19 and 44 in relation with the assaults, but no arrests have been made.

 

SAINT-GENIS-POUILLY, FRANCE – Five arrested over cryptocurrency kidnapping

  • France 24 reports the authorities arrested four people between the ages of 18 and 22 and a 17 year old minor in connection with the kidnapping of the father of a Dubai-based cryptocurrency influencer and entrepreneur on New Year's Eve last year. Three of the adults have long rap sheets with convictions for violence, theft, drug and currency trafficking as well as weapons charges.
  • When they did not receive a ransom, the father was "assaulted, doused with petrol and transported in the boot of a car to Sarthe, nearly 700 kilometers (435 miles) away.
  • While prosecutors have not released the name of the cryptocurrency entrepreneur, they have said he is a figure who is known to the general public.

 

OLOMOUC, CZECHIA – Five teens arrested over ISIS-linked synagogue arson terror plot

  • Euractiv reports Czech police detained five teenagers, most of whom are minors, who are accused of supporting ISIS, plotting a terror attack and spreading hate speech, with further charges possible. Police seized knives, gas pistols and tactical military gear.
  • Before meeting online, the teens did not know each other and prior to their exposure to ISIS propaganda, they had "no connection to the Muslim community in the Czech Republic," according to Michal Koudelka, the director of the Czech Security Information Service.
  • The investigation involved law enforcement bodies in Austria, Slovakia and the UK, with the suspects targeting the LGBTQ+ community, Jewish people and other minorities. Two of the suspects are charged over an attempted arson of a synagogue in Brno in January 2024 and one is accused of attempting to recruit others to fight in Syria using Telegram channels, according to Radio Prague International.

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss enter 'exploratory talks' with EU over arms procurement

  • Reuters reports Switzerland announced Wednesday plants to enter "exploratory talks" over a "non-binding partnership" involving "arms procurement projects".
  • Partnerships are required for non-EU countries to be involved in cooperative projects involving the EU. Switzerland said the move was "compatible with neutrality" since such a partnership "would allow Switzerland to negotiate better conditions for its industry's participation" in European defense procurement.
  • Of note: Switzerland's arms industry is flailing due to controversies internal to Swiss aerospace and defense firm RUAG but also the neutrality-related provisions that prevent arms from being sold even to allies who are involved in conflict or the defense of their sovereignty. The Swiss have blocked German efforts to transfer matériel to Ukraine, citing the country's neutrality, to the dismay of other European countries; it's unclear what the new non-binding partnership would due to relax such concerns.

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss dismay over F35 fighter jets' price not fixed for rich nation

  • Reuters reports Switzerland is in talks with the US over the floating cost of the stealth F35 fighter jet the country closed a deal on for in 2021 for a "fixed price" of approximately 6 billion Swiss francs ($7.4 billion) for 36 planes. Current Defense Minister Martin Pfister said the country needs the fighter jets "to guarantee the safety of its airspace and population from 2032," a mere seven years away.
  • Last year, the US office overseeing the program informed the Swiss government the price for the jets, to be delivered by 2032, could be higher and in February, the Swiss were informed by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency that the fixed price was a "misunderstanding".
  • The deal attracted controvery among left wing and right wing elements in Switzerland who adhere to a rigid view on neutrality and are united by a common disdain for anything that smells too much of transatlanticism. So now the adults enter a hard bargain phase. As Reuters puts it, "Critics said Switzerland did not need cutting-edge warplanes to defend its territory, which a supersonic jet can cross in 10 minutes." So there are vulnerabilities despite mountains.

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Switzerland to lift sanctions on Syria

  • Reuters reports Switzerland announced last Friday that it would lift "a raft of economic sanctions" on Syria, on 24 entities including on the country's central bank. The announcement came of course one day ahead of the US joining Israel in bombing Iran's nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan; historically, Iran has deep ties to Syria, supporting President Ahmed al-Sharaa's predecessor, the now Russia-based exiled dictator Bashar al-Assad.
  • A statement from the Swiss Federal Council noted, "The aim of this decision is to promote the country's economic recovery and an inclusive and peaceful political transition."
  • The EU removed economic sanctions on Syria at the end of May after the US Department of the Treasury.

And finally, this week…

 

BASEL, SWITZERLAND –Tsarist Russian ring gifted to Basel host stolen from museum

  • Swissinfo reports a historic ring from Russian Tsar Alexander I given to his host in Basel in 1814 while the Russian army was passing through during the Napoleonic wars was stolen from the Haus zum Kirchgarten museum. The Tsar stayed at the Segerhof, a former monastery, and gifted a brooch to Dorothea Burkhardt-Merian, the lady of the house; the B/M monagraphed brooch was later made into a ring.
  • The theft was discovered at the end of May during "internal checks," suggesting that the ring's absence from the museum was not immediately noticed despite it reportedly being in a case with an alarm system.
  • The Basel Historical Museum, which oversees the Haus zum Kirchgarten, decided to make the theft public after an internal investigation led nowhere. If you see a monographed ring given to a Swiss lady from the Napoleonic era, say something!

 

Stay safe and know what the f— you're doing! 

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