Author: Mideast discourse

Late on September 18, an attack with indirect fire targeted a key base of the US-led coalition in Syria’s northeastern region, according to reports in the Arab media. The base, which is located in the southern outskirts of the town of al-Shaddadi in the southern al-Hasakah countryside, was hit by a number of unidentified projectiles. However, no casualties or material losses were reported. The al-Shaddadi base was established in a large gas and an oil filed, just like most US-led coalition bases in northeastern Syria. The base hosts one of the coalition’s main heliports in the region. Nearly a dozen…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator On September 12, 2022, clashes erupted between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops along the Armenia–Azerbaijan border resulting in almost 300 deaths and dozens injured, with both sides blaming the other. US Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Armenia yesterday, leading a congressional delegation in a show of support following the deadly clashes in a decades-old dispute over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, where a truce has been in effect since Wednesday. Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse interviewed Abraham Gasparyan, PhD in Political Sciences, Associated Professor at Yerevan State University, TV Commentator, and Founder and Director of “Genesis Armenia”,…

The Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria sounds the alarm on a potential false-flag attack by the US military in Al-Tanf occupation base. According to warnings relayed by Russia’s Defense Ministry, US-supported militants are in the works of carrying out a false-flag attack against civilians in the strategic Al-Tanf region, located near the borders of Iraq and Jordan, to incriminate Syrian government forces. Deputy head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, Major General Oleg Yegorov, stated via a RIA Novosti report that the center received intel regarding members of the Maghawir Al-Thawra terrorist group who are readying to launch an attack that would point…

As Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine continues, western countries keep introducing and proposing new sanctions against Moscow even as their officials admit that these measures are backfiring on their economies. Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called the European Union the main loser in the situation around the conflict in Ukraine apart from Ukrainians themselves, as he delivered a speech at the 86th International Exhibition of Thessaloniki. Tsipras clarified that he supports Ukraine in the conflict, but noted that support for Kiev does not mean that the government should ignore “international geopolitical realignments”. He argued that the EU…

The head of the Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom has criticized the UN atomic watchdog IAEA for allowing politics to shape its Ukrainian narrative. The IAEA’s Board of Governors passed a resolution on Thursday demanding that Russia “immediately cease all actions against, and at, the Zaporprozhye nuclear power plant” – despite the fact that Ukrainian troops have been shelling the nuclear site, as it has been under Russian control since March. “They know full well what is happening there and where [attacks] are coming from… They definitely share this information online with [the headquarters in] Vienna and a political component…

Turkish occupation forces launched shells on villages of Naqoura and Qarah Hasan in Qamishli city, causing material damage to properties, local sources told SANA reporter. The sources added that the occupation forces also targeted several villages to the north of Al-Qahtaniyah town in Qamishli eastern countryside, including Qardim Halimeh village, causing only material damages. Source: SANA

The Israeli regime destroyed 44 Palestinian buildings in the West Bank in two weeks, the United Nations said. It comes as the usurping regime presses ahead with its illegal land grab policies across the Palestinian territories. A report cited by the Palestinian Information Center on Sunday, stressed that out of the 44 buildings, “about 35 buildings are located in Area C, 19 of which were destroyed without warning, which prevented the owners from being able to protest in advance.” According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) the demolition took place over a span of…

Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev will hold security consultations and meetings during a two-day visit to China starting Sunday, China’s foreign ministry said. Patrushev will attend the 17th round of China’s Russia strategic security consultations and the 7th meeting of the China-Russia law enforcement security cooperation during his visit, the foreign ministry said in a statement released on its website on Sunday, Reuters reported. The meetings come after Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held face-to-face talks in Uzbekistan on Thursday, their first since the outbreak of the Ukraine war. The Russia-Ukraine war has killed tens of…

Kazakhstan’s president on Saturday signed a decree to rename the country’s capital Nur-Sultan to Astana, the presidential press service has said. The decree is effective starting from the day of its first official publication. Earlier, on September 17, Tokayev signed a law amending the Constitution to restore the capital’s previous name Astana. In addition, according to the latest amendments to the fundamental law, the term of office of the head of state is limited to one seven-year period without the right to re-election. In 1997, Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, moved the capital from Almaty to the city of Akmola,…

 US President Joe Biden has warned that Russia would face international consequences if it uses chemical or tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine in an interview with CBS made public on Friday. The American leader was asked as to what he would say to Russian President Vladimir Putin “if he is considering using chemical or tactical nuclear weapons.” “Don’t. You will change the face of war unlike anything since World War II,” Biden replied, TASS reported. When asked about the US’ reaction in this case, the US president stated: “You think I would tell you if I knew exactly what it…