Justus Knight – RR News Update! October 5th, 2026

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PART 1 of the PODCAST

PART 2 of the PODCAST

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS EXCLUSIVE PART 2 – 14 DAYS FOR FREE TO CHECK IT OUT!

DESCRIPTION PART 1

Something extraordinary is unfolding inside Russia. A 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute died after developing severe pneumonia, nearly 200 contacts were placed under medical observation, and Russian authorities are disputing reports that she contracted pneumonic plague following a laboratory accident. Meanwhile, the Trump administration tells Axios it is “aware, monitoring the outbreak, and assessing options.” Axios

At the same time, an analysis of Russia’s strategic position argues Moscow is facing increasing pressure across the Arctic, Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Pacific—while the Trump administration has formally revived the Monroe Doctrine through its own “Trump Corollary.” ZeroHedge

And then comes the phrase nobody who remembers 2019 wants to hear again: “pneumonia of unknown etiology.”

Tonight we separate what’s confirmed, what’s disputed, and why Washington is suddenly paying very close attention.

COMMUNITY POST

One clean bill. No voter ID. No unrelated amendments. Ban individual stock trading by Congress and put every senator on the record. Would you support that — YES or NO?

References Part 1

ZeroHedge — What Are Russia’s Top Three Strategic Challenges? ZeroHedge article

Axios — White House monitors suspected plague outbreak in Russia Axios report

Daily Mail — White House on high alert and “assessing options” as plague breaks out in Russia Daily Mail report

White House — Presidential Message on the Anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine White House Trump Corollary statement

WHO — Plague Fact Sheet WHO plague information

CDC — Clinical Testing and Diagnosis for Plague CDC plague guidance

CDC — COVID-19 Timeline CDC historical timeline

WHO — Pneumonia of unknown cause — China, January 2020 WHO original outbreak notice

PART 2 – EXCLUSIVE @ RestrictedRepublic.com

DESCRIPTION

The confrontation with Iran just took another dramatic turn. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iran’s remaining U.N. delegation out of the United States after negotiations stalled—and U.S. officials say two Iranian diplomats who remained in New York were subsequently forced to leave, an account Iran disputes. Axios

But the diplomatic showdown may be only the surface. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the administration has moved from military action to a blockade and “Operation Economic Outcast,” claiming Iran would have no oil on the water during the week and therefore no associated oil revenue. Meanwhile, President Trump is publicly questioning who in Iran still possesses enough authority to make a deal as tensions continue building across the region. redstate.com

Tonight we break down the three-front pressure campaign—diplomatic, economic and military—and the signals that will tell us whether the next move is negotiation…or another escalation.

HASHTAGS PART 2

#Iran, #Trump, #MarcoRubio, #ScottBessent, #IranWar, #MiddleEast, #StraitOfHormuz, #UnitedNations, #Geopolitics, #RestrictedRepublic

References Part 2

RedState — Bessent Delivers Good News on Iran, and Hilarious Take About Melania’s Friends
RedState — Bessent interview and Iran pressure

RedState — Iranian Delegation Finds Out Rubio Doesn’t Play If They Don’t Do What U.S. Says
RedState — Iranian delegation removal

RedState — Iranian Leader Tries to Unload on Trump, but POTUS’ Response to the Regime Is Priceless
RedState — Trump response to Iran

Axios — Iranian diplomats “kicked out” of U.S. after ignoring order to leave
Axios — Iranian diplomats removed

Axios — Scoop: Rubio ordered Iranian delegation to leave the country
Axios — Rubio order to Iranian delegation

Axios — Watch the extended Scott Bessent interview on The Axios Show
Axios — Scott Bessent extended interview

Axios — Why Washington and Tehran keep talking past each other Axios

Axios — Trump’s top national security aides meet secretly at Camp David on Iran, Yemen Axios

Reuters — Iran readies harder retaliation if attacked as diplomacy faces long odds Reuters

Fox News — Iranian negotiators kicked out of US as talks stall, Trump lays out possible timeline for more strikes

MEDIUM ARTICLE

WHITE HOUSE ON ALERT! RUSSIA’S “UNKNOWN PNEUMONIA” — IRANIAN DIPLOMATS KICKED OUT!

There are certain phrases history teaches you never to ignore.

“Pneumonia of unknown etiology” is now one of them.

Six years after the world first heard eerily similar language surrounding unexplained pneumonia cases in Wuhan, another disturbing health story has emerged—this time from inside Russia, at an institute specifically designed to study dangerous pathogens.

A 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, Daria Shipilova, became seriously ill and died after developing severe pneumonia. Russian media reports raised the possibility that she had been exposed to the pathogen responsible for pneumonic plague following an accident involving a laboratory test tube.

Russian authorities dispute that account.

They have said testing did not establish that Shipilova contracted a microorganism connected to her professional duties and characterized her illness as pneumonia of unknown origin.

But the response surrounding the case is difficult to simply wave away.

Contacts were placed under medical observation. Quarantine precautions were introduced. Russian health authorities launched investigations.

And now the White House is watching.

According to Axios, a Trump administration official said the United States is “aware, monitoring the outbreak, and assessing options.”

That doesn’t mean another pandemic is beginning.

It doesn’t mean plague has escaped a Russian laboratory.

And it certainly doesn’t mean we should start inventing facts that aren’t there.

But after 2020, governments should expect the public to ask harder questions when unexplained pneumonia, quarantines, dangerous pathogens and conflicting official explanations suddenly appear in the same story.

The Words Nobody Forgot

Pneumonic plague is not COVID-19.

It is caused by a known bacterium, Yersinia pestis. It can be treated with antibiotics when recognized quickly, and its transmission characteristics differ dramatically from viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.

That distinction matters.

But what also matters is the information pattern.

A severe unexplained respiratory illness.

Conflicting early reports.

A potentially dangerous laboratory environment.

People being monitored.

Government officials attempting to determine precisely what happened.

And another government thousands of miles away deciding the situation is serious enough to watch.

Sometimes the first stage of a major story isn’t certainty.

It’s uncertainty.

The mistake is turning uncertainty into panic.

The opposite mistake is pretending uncertainty isn’t worth investigating.

Russia Has Bigger Problems Than One Laboratory

This health scare also arrives at an extraordinary strategic moment for Moscow.

An analysis published by ZeroHedge contributor Andrew Korybko argues that Russia increasingly faces something resembling a geopolitical “cordon sanitaire”—a tightening strategic environment across several fronts.

That is not a literal naval blockade of Russia.

It is a description of political, economic and military pressure surrounding Russian influence.

Finland and Sweden are now NATO members. Poland remains a central player on NATO’s eastern flank. Russia faces competition for influence throughout the Caucasus and Central Asia while simultaneously navigating increasingly complicated relationships with China and India.

Then there is the Western Hemisphere.

The Trump administration formally revived the language of the Monroe Doctrine in December 2025, declaring what the White House calls a new “Trump Corollary.”

The administration’s stated position is that the United States intends to resist foreign powers establishing dominant strategic influence in the Western Hemisphere.

Call it the Monroe Doctrine.

Call it the “Donroe Doctrine.”

Whatever label gets attached to it, the strategy represents another limitation on the room available to American competitors such as Russia, China and Iran.

And that’s where today’s stories suddenly begin connecting.

Watch the Pressure, Not Just the Headlines

Russia’s problem isn’t simply Ukraine.

Iran’s problem isn’t simply American military power.

China’s challenge isn’t simply trade.

The emerging story is pressure applied simultaneously across military, diplomatic, financial and geographic fronts.

That is why what happened next deserves attention.

While Washington was monitoring the strange health situation unfolding inside Russia, another confrontation was developing much closer to home.

Iranian officials had traveled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

Most eventually left.

But two Iranian diplomats were reportedly discovered still inside the United States after Secretary of State Marco Rubio had ordered the remaining delegation to depart.

A U.S. official told reporters the two were subsequently “kicked out.” One left Friday night and another Saturday morning. Iran disputed the American characterization, saying the departures were consistent with previously communicated arrangements.

That disagreement matters.

Calling them “agents” would go beyond the available evidence. They were Iranian diplomats.

But their departure is only the smallest part of what is now happening to Tehran.

Because while Rubio was closing the diplomatic door, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was talking about something far more consequential:

Iran’s money.

Bessent says the administration’s pressure campaign has moved through several stages—from military operations, to what Trump calls the “Iron Wall,” to a wider campaign of economic isolation.

And then he delivered one number that may tell us more about the condition of Iran than a hundred political speeches ever could.

Zero.

Zero Iranian oil on the water, according to Bessent’s description of the week ahead.

Zero associated oil revenue.

Meanwhile, President Trump is publicly asking a question that sounds almost like a joke until you consider its implications:

Who exactly is left in Iran with enough authority to make a deal?

That is where Part Two begins.

Because throwing two diplomats out of New York wasn’t the story.

It may have been the warning shot.

The real pressure is happening somewhere else entirely.

And it is measured in barrels, dollars—and time.

Categories: Politics

Tags: #Russia, #Trump, #WhiteHouse, #Plague, #PneumonicPlague, #Putin, #Geopolitics, #BreakingNews, #RussiaNews, #JustusKnight