Author: Steven Sahiounie

Retired Brigadier General Amin Muhammad Hoteit of the Lebanese Armed Forces said that Iran has the ability to access 54 military bases scattered in the region and threaten the security of 65,000 American soldiers. In an interview with the Tasnim Agency of Iran, Hoteit said that the Iranian attack on the US forces at the Ain Al-Assad Airbase in Iraq showed that the Islamic Republic is capable of targeting up to 54 bases across the Middle East. The university professor explained his point of view, saying: “Because Iran, when it proves its ability to reach a military base of this…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The Persian Gulf monarchies have met today at the 41st annual six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit held at Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia.  This marks the first step toward ending a three-year diplomatic crisis that divided US defense partners.  “The 41st summit marks the beginning of a new chapter for the GCC as it enters its fifth decade,” the secretary-general of the GCC, Nayef Falah al-Hajraf, said. Qatar, which hosts a major base for the US military’s Central Command, was under a naval, air and land blockade imposed in June 2017 by Saudi Arabia, the…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Today marks the first anniversary of the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, who died January 3, 2020, at the Baghdad airport when his car was attacked by a US drone, on orders of President Donald Trump. Iran has vowed revenge for the death of the Iranian major general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who was the second most powerful person in Iran. Just days before Trump is to leave office, the potential for escalation could lead to a wider war, and some military experts are wondering if Trump wants to ‘go out with…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator On December 26, hundreds of Syrian refugees fled their refugee camp in the Miniyeh region near the coastal city of Tripoli in north Lebanon after their tents were burned when fighting broke out between local youths and camp residents.  At least three were injured in the incident said Khaled Kabarra, a UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesman, while nearly four hundred residents who fled found temporary shelter in various locations. Damascus urged Lebanon’s judicial authorities and its security forces to ensure its nationals were protected. The Lebanese army said it had arrested eight people after…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The situation in Turkey is precarious. The Turkish-US relations are strained, and now US President-elect Joe Biden will enter office soon, and the relationship may soon face even more stress. Turkey is in economic peril, domestic suffering, and highly involved in a foreign conflict while occupying Syria. In order to understand the situation, the players, and the possible moves, Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse reached out to the noted Turkish writer Hamide Rencusogullari, a retired Philosophy teacher, Middle East expert, author, columnist and television programmer.  She is the author of four books, and the Publishers…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Charles Thépaut is a French diplomat and resident Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute. He recently published a policy analysis concerning the US foreign policy on Syria. While, much of his analysis demonstrates professionalism; he misses a very important point of view: that of the Syrian people living inside Syria, which amounts to about 15 million persons, or roughly two-thirds of the original 23 million before 2011. Thepaut treats the Syrian crisis as if it was only between various governments, such as; the US, EU, Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Those various countries listed are…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator President Donald Trump announced on December 10 that Morocco had joined UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan in recognizing Israel, with plans to reopen its liaison office in Tel Aviv, and joint overflight rights for airlines. The US, Israel, and Morocco triangle included a quid pro quo: a US agreement to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory since 1975, where there has been a decades-old conflict with Morocco pitted against the Polisario Front. Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior adviser, and son-in-law, and his chief international negotiator, Avi Berkowitz negotiated the deal. “This is a…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Since June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia ordered a land, air, and sea blockade on Qatar and severed diplomatic ties, along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and Bahrain. The self-styled “Anti-Terror Quartet” issued Doha 13 demands, including closing media outlets like Al Jazeera, ending ties with Iran, reducing military cooperation with Turkey, and severing ties to terrorist groups, which are following the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood ideology. Qatar denies support for terrorism. President Trump supported the blockade, tweeting on June 6: “During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator US Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reintroduced the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, on Wednesday. The bill urges the US State Department to designate the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as a foreign terrorist organization. Republican Senators. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Pat Roberts of Kansas cosponsored the bill. “I am proud to reintroduce this bill and to advance America’s fight against radical Islamic terrorism. I commend the current administration’s work calling terrorism by its name and combatting the spread of this potent…

Khaled Iskef, Syrian Journalist  The Turkish army continues its operations to sabotage the Syrian archaeological sites by digging and excavating antiquities for stealing and smuggling them outside the country. The Turkish army stole new artifacts from the vicinity of “Al-Asadiya” village, south of the city of “Ras Al-Ain”, Hasaka countryside.  Before beginning the illegal digging operations inside a farmland near the village of Al-Asadiya, the Turkish army imposed a security cordon around and two foreign experts with underground metal detectors were accompanying the Turkish soldiers. As the two experts finished examining the area, digging operations began in the agricultural land that…