Russia’s defence ministry said its fighter jet dropped bombs on the path of the HMS Defender and a border patrol ship fired shots after the warship entered 3 km into its (Russia’s) territorial waters.

The patrol ship reportedly fired twice and the Su24-M jet dropped four bombs in the path of the British vessel.

According to the ministry, the British warship was warned to back off but it kept its course. It, however, left minutes after the shots were fired.

“The destroyer had been warned that weapons would be used if it trespasses the border of the Russian Federation. It did not react to the warning,” the defence ministry said.

But the UK military said it is untrue that its HMS Defender was shot at.

It said its vessel did not trespass but was only conducting “innocent passage” through Ukrainian territorial waters “in accordance with international law”.

“This morning, HMS Defender carried out a routine transit from Odesa towards Georgia across the Black Sea,” UK ministry of defence responded in a statement.

“As is normal for this route, she entered an internationally recognised traffic separation corridor. She exited that corridor safely at 0945 BST. As is routine, Russian vessels shadowed her passage and she was made aware of training exercises in her wider vicinity.

“We believe the Russians were undertaking a gunnery exercise in the Black Sea and provided the maritime community with prior-warning of their activity,”

“No shots were directed at HMS Defender and we do not recognise the claim that bombs were dropped in her path.”

A statement on HMS Defender from Secretary of State for Defence, @BWallaceMP:

“This morning, HMS Defender carried out a routine transit from Odesa towards Georgia across the Black Sea.

No warning shots have been fired at HMS Defender.

The Royal Navy ship is conducting innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law.

The UK and its allies do not recognise Crimea as Russian territory after Moscow annexed the region in February 2014.

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Rose Marie DiCarlo said that the five missile fragments that were found in the areas of Yanbu and Riyadh in July 2017 were similar to the Iranian missile type “Qiam-1,” with the words “Made in Iran” written on some of the components of these missiles.

Saudi Arabia’s air defense forces intercepted and destroyed several ballistic missiles launched by Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen over the past year.

In her testimony before a UN Security Council session on Wednesday evening, DiCarlo revealed UN tests on other weapons seized on a boat intercepted at sea by the UAE which contained Iranian explosives.

DiCarlo said that some of the weapons and materials tested had been manufactured in Iran, however stated that the United Nations was not able to verify whether those materials had been transferred from Iran after 16 January 2016 – when the Iran nuclear deal came into effect and international sanctions were lifted on Tehran.

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Anton Morozov, a member of the Russian lower house of parliament’s international affairs committee, and two other Russian lawmakers visited Pyongyang on Oct. 2-6, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.

“They are preparing for new tests of a long-range missile. They even gave us mathematical calculations that they believe prove that their missile can hit the west coast of the United States,” RIA quoted Morozov as saying.

“As far as we understand, they intend to launch one more long-range missile in the near future. And in general, their mood is rather belligerent.”

Tensions have risen in recent weeks over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs as Pyongyang has test-fired several missiles and conducted what it said was a test explosion of a hydrogen bomb as it advances toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.

Morozov’s comments drove up the price of U.S. Treasury bonds, as investors, worried about the prospect of new North Korean missile tests, moved into assets the market views as a safe haven in times of uncertainty.

Reuters was not able to independently verify Morozov’s account, and he did not specify which North Korean officials had given him the information about the planned test.

In Washington, a U.S. official said that there had been indications that North Korea could be preparing for a missile test on or around Oct. 10, the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Korean Workers Party and a day after the Columbus Day holiday in the United States.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not disclose the type of missile that could be tested and cautioned that North Korea in the past has not staged launches despite indications that it would.

A senior CIA analyst, speaking at a conference in Washington this week, said the North Korean government likely would stage some kind of provocation on Oct. 10 but did not elaborate on what form it might take.

“There is a clarity of purpose in what (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un is doing. I don’t think he’s done,“ said Yong Suk Lee, the deputy assistant director of the CIA’s Korea Mission Center, which was set up this year.

”In fact, I told my own staff (that) October 10th is the Korean Workers Party founding day. That’s Tuesday in North Korea, but Monday – the Columbus Day holiday – in the United States. So stand by your phones.”

Morozov’s delegation had “high-level” meetings in Pyongyang, RIA news agency said, citing the Russian embassy in the North Korean capital.

Tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program have been running high in recent weeks since Pyongyang staged a series of missile tests, and conducted a text explosion on Sept. 3 of what it said was a hydrogen bomb.

There has also been an exchange of tough rhetoric between Pyongyang and Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea if it threatens the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un responded by calling Trump deranged and saying he would pay dearly for his threat.

China, North Korea’s main ally, has backed sanctions against Pyongyang and on Saturday in response to the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, said it backed a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons.

“China has always supported a complete and total ban on nuclear weapons, but also believes that the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament cannot be achieved overnight and must advance gradually within the existing disarmament mechanism. China is willing to work with all parties to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world,” said China’s foreign ministry.

Morozov is a member of the LDPR, a right-wing populist party. It casts itself as an opposition party, but hews close to the Kremlin line on matters of international affairs.

Describing meetings with North Korean officials, Morozov said they “displayed serious determination and bellicose rhetoric,” RIA reported.

“The situation, of course, demands the swiftest intervention of all interested states, particularly those represented in the region, in order to prevent wide-scale military action,” the agency quoted him as saying.

Russia has closer relations with Pyongyang than many other world powers, linked in part to Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea and the current leader’s grand-father, having lived for a time in the Soviet Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has joined other world powers in condemning North Korea’s weapons program, but has taken a softer line than Western governments.

Putin has said that Pyongyang will not be cowed into giving up its weapons program. He has accused Washington of trying to effect regime change in North Korea, and predicted that would unleash chaos.

U.S. Treasury prices surged on the report of a possible new missile test, pulling yields lower, as investors cut risk out of their portfolios and sought the safety of Treasuries. Treasury prices move inversely to their yields.

Benchmark 10 year U.S. Treasury yields fell from the session high 2.40 percent mark US10YT=TWEB to 2.35 percent around midday (1600 GMT) in New York.

“It has just been risk-off buying into the long (Columbus Day) weekend … You look at the charts, it has really been a one-way trade of lower yields,” said Justin Lederer, Treasury analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York.

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