Author: Steven Sahiounie

Khaled Iskef, Syrian Journalist Al-Nusra Front arrested a Saudi leader in “Guardians of Religion” organization called “Abu Abdul Rahman al-Makki”, along with two other leaders of the same organization, within the continuated struggle between the resembled jihadist factions. Local sources said that “Al-Nusra” raided the location of “Al-Makki” near the city of “Jisr Al-Shughour” in Idlib countryside, a large number of “Al-Nusra” militants surrounded the place suddenly, which makes “Guardians of Religion” armed men surrender and “Al-Makki” was arrested without any confrontations.  Arresting “Al-Makki” came hours after “Al-Nusra” had arrested the two leaders of “Guardians of Religion” “Khallad Al-Joufi” and…

Russia’s RIA Novosti quoted informed sources in the Syrian opposition that said 93 Syrian mercenaries were killed in the Karabakh clashes recently, prompting a new batch to be sent to Azerbaijan from Turkey. One of the sources told the agency that “the bodies of 53 mercenaries were transferred to Syria on Sunday … thus, the total death toll of Syrian mercenaries reached 93.”The source said that a third batch of Syrian mercenaries, including 430 members, left for the conflict zone in Karabakh at the end of last week.Another source in the Syrian opposition stated that by October 1, there were…

A video clip circulating on social media showed the testing of a new weapon on the Russian-made Su-35S jet, the Sputnik News Agency reported.The video clip was released to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Chkalov Flight Test Center of the Russian Ministry of Defense.The video shows how the Su-35S fire the R-37M air-to-air missile. This weapon, also known as RVV-BD and “Product 620”, was developed by Vimpil (part of Tactical Missile Corporation). It is known that the maximum range of the missile is 200 km. It hits targets at a height estimated between 15 meters and…

The Armenian Ministry of Defense said on Sunday that Azerbaijan has lost 17 aircraft, 14 helicopters and about 370 armored vehicles since the start of hostilities in Karabakh.Ministry spokesman Artsron Hovhannisyan published an illustration on his Facebook page, stating that “since the beginning of the hostilities, Karabakh forces have destroyed 124 drones, 14 helicopters, 17 aircraft, 368 armored vehicles and four smerch rocket launchers.”According to the estimates of the Armenian Ministry of Defense, for the entire period of the fighting, the personnel losses of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces amounted to 3,154 people.Azerbaijan has not commented on these claims, nor have…

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) began an operation inside the town of Kanaker on Saturday after building up their forces in the area for much of the week.According to a field report from rural Damascus, the Syrian Arab Army, backed by reconciled rebels, entered Kanaker on Saturday and began combing through the town.The report said the Syrian Arab Army and their allied forces entered different buildings in search of militants and their weapons, while establishing security corridors across the town.It would add that the Syrian Army and their allied forces are still conducting the operation in search of the militants…

On Saturday, an Iranian fuel tanker entered Venezuelan waters, carrying large quantities of fuel to help solve the fuel shortage that afflicts the latter.According to the agency Reuters, the Iranian fuel tanker “Faxon” was able to enter the territorial waters of Venezuela, loaded with about 234,000 barrels of fuel.The agency quoted Refinitiv Icon data, which indicated that the vessel arrived around 7:00 A.M. on Saturday in the northern state of Sucre, in northeastern Venezuela.The data also indicated that the second Iranian vessel “Fortune” had already docked at the port of Amway in western Venezuela on Friday, while the tanker “Forrest”…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator They say, ‘Timing is everything’.  US President Trump fell ill with COVID-19 simultaneously as Armenian Prime Minister, Nicol Pashinyan, was waiting for a phone reply to his previous request for urgent help from the White House. On Oct. 1 Pashinyan spoke by phone with Robert O’Brien, Trump’s national security adviser, asking: Why is nothing being done to stop the US ally, Turkey, from using American-made F-16 jets against Armenians in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh? O’Brien had promised to set up a phone conversation between Pashinyan and Trump, but hope for American help for Armenia…

By: Khaled Iskef, Syrian Journalist The Turkish army forces deliberately targeted with artillery the Syrian army points in Saraqib, Idlib eastern countryside, continuing its transgressions and failure to abide by the ceasefire concluded previously.Being targeted by the Turkish artillery stationed in ” Al-Mastouma “area, the Syrian army responded with missiles towards the source of fire.There were no Syrian army’s casualties, the sources emphasized, due to this targeting which is not the first of its kind, as such attacks were several lately on different civilian areas in the countryside of Aleppo and Hama as well.The Turkish attacks on the Syrian lands…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Recently, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the “Abraham Accord” with Israel.  More Arab countries are rumored to be willing to also sign an alliance with Israel.  Analysts agree that the common perceived threat they share is Iran. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” is the glue which cements the once unthinkable alliances.  In an effort to better understand the various issues between Iran, the US, Israel and the region, Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse reached out to Dr. Javad Heirannia, a Middle East expert and director of international relations at Tahlil…

In the third targeting incident in two days in the Karabakh region, RIA Novosti reported that a bus carrying media personnel from Russia and Armenia, along with an American journalist, had been bombed by Azerbaijan.An RIA Novosti correspondent stated that the incident did not lead to any injuries among the bus passengers, but he stated the attack appeared deliberate.The agency published footage documenting the extent of the destruction of the bus.The names of the journalists and media personnel were not released by the agency.This comes a day after four journalists, two of them French, from the Le Monde newspaper team,…