Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator On August 24, the US military in Syria carried out a retaliatory airstrike on a militia that the US claims previously attacked the Al Tanf base on August 15.  US F-15 and F-16 jets dropped guided bombs on nine ammunition and storage bunkers in Ayyash, near Deir al-Zour in the early hours of Wednesday; however, the militia may not have been responsible for the August 15 attack. The Al Tanf base is an illegal US military base in southeast Syria established in 2016, on the Damascus to Baghdad highway, near the borders of Iraq…

Shipments from Ukrainian ports continuing under historic deal reached this July in Istanbul, says Turkish National Defense Ministry Three more ships have left Ukrainian ports under the Istanbul grain export deal, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Saturday. Shipments from Ukrainian ports are continuing, said the ministry in a statement, adding: “Three more ships loaded with grain departed from Ukrainian ports this morning.” In July, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were halted due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its seventh month.…

“We categorically reject the neocolonial `rules-based order’ being imposed by the US-led West,” Lavrov emphasized The Western-imposed “rules-based order” envisages a racist division of the world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday. In a video address to the fifth Global Young Diplomats Forum, Lavrov reiterated Russia’s adherence to the basic principles of the UN Charter and said his country had consistently supported the cultural diversity of peoples and their right to determine their own path. “We categorically reject the neocolonial `rules-based order’ being imposed by the US-led West,” Russia’s top diplomat emphasized. “This order provides for a racist…

The military also says it hit a military train at a railway station in the town of Chaplino Two separate attacks by Russian forces have destroyed or disabled eight Ukrainian Air Force planes, the Defense Ministry in Moscow claimed on Thursday. In one sortie, Russian warplanes launched precision munitions at a Ukrainian airfield near the city of Mirgorod in the central Poltava Region, military spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said during a daily briefing. Two warplanes, a Su-27 and a Su-24, were destroyed while two other Su-27s and a Su-24 were critically damaged in the raid, he said. The Ukrainian…

Türkiye said on Thursday that Greek warplanes “harassed” its jets again during a NATO mission over the Aegean Sea, the second such act in three days, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported. Greek pilots put two Turkish F-16s under a radar lock on Wednesday while they were on a NATO mission with the Alliance’s AWACS reconnaissance plane at the Nexus Ace exercise, the agency quoted anonymous Turkish sources as saying. The Turkish F-16 fighter jets responded by putting the Greek aircraft under radar lock, the report said. On Tuesday, Türkiye summoned the Greek military attache in Ankara after Greek F-16 jets…

The Syrian air defenses confront an Israeli aggression in the sky of the city of Misyaf in Hama Governorate. SANA news agency confirmed Thursday that the Syrian air defenses engaged hostile targets in the sky of Misyaf city in the countryside of Hama Governorate. Sputnik reported that violent explosions were sounded in the vicinity of the Misyaf area in the western countryside of the Hama governorate caused by the Syrian air defenses’ response to Israeli aggression in the area. According to the agency’s reporter, the Israeli aggression was carried out by warplanes that fired a number of missiles toward some targets in…

When Israeli national security adviser Eyal Hulata arrived in Washington this week, his government was highly concerned that the Biden administration was about to make new concessions to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. After the visit, that anxiety has been reduced, three Israeli officials say. Why it matters: The U.S. and Iran have moved much closer to a deal to restore the 2015 nuclear accord in recent weeks, but a few key Iranian demands remain unresolved. According to the Israeli officials, the U.S. has toughened its positions on those demands. The Israeli government has consistently objected to the Biden administration’s…

On August 24, the Iranian military kicked off a large-scale military exercise to test its combat and reconnaissance drones. Troops from the four units of the military, namely the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Force, and more than 150 drones are reportedly taking part in the two-day exercise, which covers all areas across Iran, from the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman to the northern territories. Vice Admiral Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi, the spokesman for the exercise, said on the first day that surveillance drones successfully conducted intelligence-gathering and patrol missions. Combat drones also practiced detecting and…

Al-Mayadeen correspondent reports an attack targeting the Zlikan base in Bashiqa, east of Nineveh with several missiles. Al Mayadeen correspondent reported that the Turkish-operated Zlikan military base in Bashiqa, east of Nineveh governorate was targeted with several rockets. The rockets were launched from the city of Mosul, and no information was received about any casualties as a result of the attack. A few days ago, Al Mayadeen correspondent in Baghdad reported that Turkish warplanes targeted the village of Sigiri in the Dohuk governorate in northern Iraq. This was preceded by Turkish helicopters raiding Sidekan in Soran District, Erbil Governorate, northern Iraq. The attack resulted in…

The US occupation bases at the Koniko oilfield in the countryside of Deir Ezzor were subjected to a missile attack for the second time within hours Local sources in Deir Ezzor told SANA reporter that a base for the US occupation at the Koniko oilfield in the eastern countryside was targeted with bursts of rocket shells, and later explosions were heard inside the base, and no causalities were reported among the ranks of the occupation forces. The sources added that the US occupation forces closed the area immediately, while the occupation’s planes were hovering in the airspace of the area.…