Author: Steven Sahiounie

The US is reportedly considering its response after Moscow showed senior diplomat Bartle Gorman the door Russia has expelled a top diplomat serving in the US Embassy in Moscow, both RIA Novosti and TASS have reported on Thursday, citing the American mission. Bart Gorman, who has been serving as deputy ambassador, was asked to leave the country, they claimed. The embassy told the news agencies that Washington is considering a tit-for-tat response. Gorman is a career US diplomat specializing in security, according to his bio. He previously served as the deputy assistant secretary and assistant director for Threat Investigations and…

The Belarusian leader also threatened to be an “eternal president” if the West does not stop “attacking” his country Belarus’s longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko has said he will never step down from office if the West does not put an end to efforts to oust him from the country’s top job, claiming that he is prepared to deploy not only nuclear, but “supernuclear” weapons to deter his enemies. Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Lukashenko accused the West of “attacking” him and attempting to stage coups in Belarus. On the subject of a possible transfer of power in the country, the leader, who has been…

Late on February 16, the Israeli military struck positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) located to the south of the Syrian capital, Damascus. “At around 11:35 of today’s eve, the Israeli enemy carried out a strike with a number of ground-to-ground missiles, which were launched from the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting some positions in the outskirts of the town of Zakyah in southern Damascus,” the Syrian Arab News Agency quoted a Syrian military official as saying. Zakyah is located 40 kilometers away from the Israeli occupied part of the Golan Heights. The town is surrounded by several key bases…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Negotiations between the western powers and Iran are continuing concerning a new nuclear deal.  Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse interviewed Massoud Khodabandeh to gain insight not only about the negotiation, but a wide array of topics connected to Iran and the Middle East. Khodabandeh is a regular writer and contributor on Middle East issues in print, broadcast and documentaries. He co-authored the book ‘The Life of Camp Ashraf – Victims of Many Masters” with his wife Anne Singleton. 1. Steven Sahiounie (SS): We have seen the Houthis launching several attacks on the UAE and Saudi…

Occupied Jerusalem, SANA- The Israeli occupation forces arrested on Tuesday 12 Palestinians in the West Bank. The occupation troops stormed al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya village, Bita town, south of Nablus, the villages of Tawana and Beit Amir in Hebron, Rummana, Jaba’ and Qabatiya in Jenin, they raided the Palestinians’ houses and arrested twelve persons, according to Wafa News Agency. On Tuesday, 20 Palestinians were arrested in several areas of the West Bank Source: SANA

Central bank taking steps to boost local currency settlements with neighboring nations The Chinese government is planning to work with other Asian nations to strengthen the use of local currencies in trade and investment as part of a broader plan to bolster regional economic strength, according to Yi Gang, the governor of the country’s central bank. “Emerging markets should improve their resilience,” Yi said on Wednesday during a televised speech at a G20 event hosted by Indonesia. “This is where regional cooperation has a key role to play.” The official highlighted that the latest progress in using local currencies of emerging Asian…

American personnel beat a hasty retreat in the face of a purported Russian invasion Staff evacuating the US embassy in Kiev took apart and destroyed computer systems and communication equipment used by diplomats, reportedly fearing it could end up in the hands of Russian forces after a potential invasion, just before Moscow announced that it was withdrawing some troops from near the Ukrainian border. On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that officials were “temporarily relocating our embassy operations in Ukraine from our embassy in Kiev to Lviv due to the dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces.” Lviv…

Seeking the security of its own interests, “Israel” looks to make Biden reconsider designating Ansar Allah as a terrorist organization. Upon the UAE’s request, “Israel” is pressuring the Biden administration to designate Ansar Allah, Yemen’s popular army forces, as a terror group, according to two sources familiar with the topic. With the increasingly tense situation following Ansar Allah’s retaliation against the Saudi-Emirati coalition’s massacres in addition to a series of operations, the UAE and allies are scurrying to look for ways to deter Yemeni retaliation, ramping up their lobbying efforts to designate Ansar Allah as a terrorist organization. Of course, it is in Israeli interest…

Moscow, SANA- Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has slammed the disinformation campaigns about the alleged Russian attack on Ukraine by calling on the US and Western media outlets to release a schedule of Russia’s “upcoming invasions” of Ukraine for the current year. “I’d like to request US and British disinformation: Bloomberg, The New York Times and The Sun media outlets to publish the schedule for our upcoming invasions for the year. I’d like to plan my vacation,” Russia Today website cited the Russian diplomat as saying on her Telegram channel Wednesday. Western media outlets have recently been echoing allegations…

By Ailis Halligan Spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the Russian president has consistently demanded “negotiations” and “diplomacy” Russian President Vladimir Putin is “willing to negotiate” over demands for security guarantees with the West, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, highlighting that the issue surrounding Ukraine is only “part” of the overall problem. Speaking to CNN, Peskov noted that negotiations have consistently been at the top of the president’s list of priorities. “President Putin has always been demanding negotiations and diplomacy”, Peskov said, adding that it was the Kremlin which originally “initiated the issue of guarantees of security.” “Ukraine is just part of the problem, it’s part…