Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Jim Fitton, 66, arrived at court in Baghdad and was given a 15-year sentence after being convicted of smuggling antiquities. Fitton, a British citizen was found to have artifacts in his bag, along with fellow traveler, Volker Waldmann, when they were attempting to leave Baghdad airport on March 20.  He is now back in jail until his lawyer can appeal the sentence. Waldmann, a German citizen, has been found not guilty and is expected to be released. In the US-UK war on Iraq, Germany and France openly opposed the invasion, occupation, and destruction of…

The commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force warned the Israeli regime that any mistake in dealing with Iran could result in the flattening of Tel Aviv and Haifa. In comments at a military ceremony in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan on Tuesday, Brigadier General Kiomars Heidari cautioned the Zionist regime’s officials against any miscalculation. On Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei’s orders, if any mistake was made by the enemy, Iran would raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground, he added. Denouncing the Israeli regime for the occupation of Muslim territories, the commander said those lands…

Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel announced his country’s request to Tel Aviv to equip it with the “Iron Dome” anti-missile system in a news conference. Ukraine last spring officially asked the United States to equip Patriot missile defense systems and the Iron Dome system. Reports released last February show that the interim Israeli regime opposed Ukraine’s request to equip the country with an Iron Dome system. Because the Israeli government and the Pentagon have worked together to develop the Iron Dome system, the sale of the system to a third party depends on the simultaneous agreement of Washington and Tel Aviv.…

The Belarusian armed forces have begun a series of drills to practice peace to wartime transition, the country’s defense ministry said on Tuesday. “The main thrust of the drills is to carry out a whole set of consecutive training sessions involving all categories of army personnel, military units and command centers, who are to practice concerted measures for peace to wartime transition,” the ministry said on its Telegram channel, TASS reported. It explained that the measures were being taken in accordance with the Belarusian armed forces’ training plans for 2021-2022. “The combat readiness training sessions are being held after another…

A top State Department official said ‘the entire world’ would react harshly to any nuclear test by Pyongyang A senior US official has vowed a “forceful response” should North Korea conduct a nuclear test. The response follows Pyongyang’s latest ballistic missile launch over the weekend, which was matched by a similar show of force from Washington and Seoul. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with her South Korean counterpart, Deputy US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman argued that any nuclear test would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions and warned of a massive international reaction. “There would be a swift and forceful response to…

The Donbass town where a wooden monastery was torched during fighting has been “liberated” from Ukraine, Sergey Shoigu says Russia and its allies have made more progress towards fully capturing the Donbass, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported on Tuesday. Some 15 communities were recently taken, including Svyatogorsk – the town where Ukrainian forces allegedly torched a wooden church as they retreated last week. Svyatogorsk is located on the left bank of the Severny Donets river and is claimed by the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) as part of its territory. Last week, the Skete of All Saints, a historic wooden…

Earlier, Kirill Stremousov said that the authorities of the Kherson Region intended to initiate a motion in the near future in favor of joining Russia in the capacity of a full-fledged constituent territory of the federation The authorities of the Kherson Region believe that the territory will most probably decide to follow in Crimea’s footsteps with respect to the idea of reunification with Russia, the deputy chief of the Kherson Region’s military-civilian administration, Kirill Stremousov, told the media on the sidelines of the 15th international festival Great Russian Word in Yalta on Tuesday. The leader of the Republic of Crimea,…

NATO has launched the BALTOPS 22 naval drills in the Baltic Sea, which involve Prospective NATO members Sweden and Finland. In total, the exercises involve about 7,000 troops, 75 aircraft and 45 warships and put NATO’s amphibious operations, anti-submarine capabilities, air defences and mine clearance to the test over 10 scheduled days of war games. According to the statements by NATO officials, the annual drills are not being held specifically to counter the Russian threat, but in order to strengthen the NATO eastern flank and potentially admit two new members who face Russia across the Baltic. Russia did not keep…

Washington’s initial explanation could evaporate with the forthcoming findings. The US military is looking into whether a US soldier is responsible for the explosion which occurred at a small US base in Deir-Ezzor, northern Syria, on April 7. The explosion injured four US occupation soldiers, according to three defense officials. One official confirmed that the suspect is no longer in Syria. The Criminal Investigation Division of the US army, along with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, are looking into the attack. “Army CID and Air Force OSI are conducting a joint investigation of the incident. A possible suspect, a US…

The United States claims to be keeping up efforts to return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, despite its policies being in line with those of the Zionist regime as well as the recent anti-Iran resolution pushed by Germany, the UK, and France, all parties to the nuclear accord. Spokesman for US Department of State Ned Price on Monday afternoon addressed reporters on the recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the US shares many data with the UN nuclear watchdog and has faith in it. Noting that assessment made by the Director General of the IAEA…