Author: Steven Sahiounie

France’s Energy Ministry has revealed that strategic national reserves of fuel have been utilized “in a targeted manner” since the beginning of March. According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, the ministry did not provide details of any shortages, citing confidentiality. The ministry highlighted that supply problems have been building in some southern regions while several refineries were still blocked from delivering products after two weeks of strikes. Workers protesting proposed changes in the French pension system have disrupted fuel deliveries and refining operations, it said. According to the report, the Normandy refinery operated by oil giant TotalEnergies will be shut down…

The banking crisis has shattered the country’s reputation as a pillar of the Western financial system, CEO of Opimas claims The troubles of once-major Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse is undermining Switzerland’s reputation as a global financial hub, says Opimas CEO Octavio Marenzi, as cited by CNBC on Tuesday. His warning follows a historic takeover of Credit Suisse by the UBS Group, its domestic rival. On Sunday the two banking giants announced a Swiss-government-brokered deal aimed at shoring up public confidence in the Western financial system and at averting a global crisis. UBS agreed to acquire the embattled bank for…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The recent Chinese brokered agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran stunned the world. The Biden administration was among the most surprised, as they saw yet another example of the diminishing status of the US in the Persian Gulf region. Saudi Arabia and its oil-rich neighbors have watched as the US has walked away from the region. Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse interviewed Dr. Javad Masoumi, a geopolitical researcher and analyst, to shed light on some key issues surrounding this new agreement. #1. Steven Sahiounie (SS): The Chinese…

The International Council Supporting Fair Trial and Human Rights called on the international community to relinquish its incorrect approach towards Syria, address the humanitarian situation there and end the embargo imposed on the country. Head of the Council, Abdul Hameed Dashti, in an interactive dialogue Tuesday with the so-called “International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic,” said it is the task of the international community to abandon it incorrect method regarding Syria and immediately move to lift embargo on Syria. Dashti regretted that the Human rights council is going ahead in applying the double standards policy, referring to…

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the European Union and the UK’s recent repetitive move to impose sanctions on Iranian targets will be met with a proportional response from Tehran. “The confrontational and sanction policy will be met with Iran’s proportional response,” Amirabdollahian told his Belgian counterpart Hadja Lahbib during a telephone conversation on Monday. Earlier in the day, the European Union announced that it was imposing restrictive measures on additional eight individuals and one entity, including members of the Judiciary, a member of the Iranian parliament, clerics, and a senior official of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).…

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani slammed the US for displaying hypocrisy and hostility towards Iran in their annual Nowruz message. In a post on his Twitter page on Tuesday, Kanaani said that “enmity with the Islamic Republic Establishment and the Iranian nation is an inseparable part of the US regime’s foreign policy”, and that this is evident every year in their Nowruz message. Kanaani specifically criticized the false claim made by the US officials in their message of supporting Iranian women, while “simultaneously maintaining and intensifying oppressive sanctions against the people of Iran.” According to Kanaani, this is “a display…

“We are ready to create a joint working body for the development of the Northern Sea Route,” the Russian President said Russia and China are ready to create a joint working body for the development of the Northern Sea Route, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday. “We see cooperation with Chinese partners in developing the transit potential of the Northern Sea Route as promising. We are ready to create a joint working body for the development of the Northern Sea Route,” Putin said. According to him, in general, the transport and logistics…

Another archive video showed a Russian Orlan-10 UAV surviving Ukrainian strike with anti-aircraft missile over the special military operation zone in Ukraine. Earlier, numerous similar videos confirmed impotence of Ukrainian forces to struck the Russian UAV, including with the foreign weapons. LINK, LINK In the vide, the missile, reportedly a man-portable air-defense system (MANPADs), passes next to the drone. However, it fails to inflict any damage. The drone continue its reconnaissance mission after the attack. The Orlan-10, which was developed by Russia’s Special Technology Center, has a flight duration of 16 hours and a range of 140 kilometers. The drone can be…

North Korean state media has been touting new claims of mass enlistments amid “an atmosphere of war” and urgent defense preparedness in response to ongoing joint US-South Korea drills, which are the largest in five years. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) initially over the weekend cited a figure of 800,000 citizens having newly signed up for military service, most of them young people, while other state-linked sources are saying it’s well over one million enlistees. By Monday the number jumped significantly to claims of around 1.4 million people enlisting. “Amidst soaring anger and hostility toward the US imperialists and the South Korean puppet traitors going mad over the reckless nuclear war…

The talks will be followed by a meeting in an extended format and the ceremony of signing documents Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping have begun their talks in the Kremlin. The Russian delegation includes Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, presidential aides Maxim Oreshkin and Yury Ushakov, Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, and Roscosmos CEO Yury Borisov. The talks will be followed by a meeting in an extended…